The Way to a Witch's Heart
by Dorothy G
Summary: Sequel to "True Love's Kiss". Damon survived the werewolf bite with Bonnie's help. Now he's determined to make her his. Can he convince the witch?
1. Prologue Chapter 1

**The way to a witch's heart**

**A/N: I'm back. Here is the first chapter/ prologue of the sequel to "True Love's Kiss". Thank you again for all of your support.**

**After pondering for a while I decided not to follow the show. It's possible that I'm going to include a few of the main facts and events but I don't want to make Elena look like a complete b*tch. As for the other facts: Stefan didn't leave with Klaus – the Kiss did cure Damon, Stefan didn't return to his ripper days, Stefan and Elena are going strong and are happy together, Caroline and Tyler are a couple, Jeremy broke up with Bonnie because she 'wasted her time looking for a non-existing cure for someone she couldn't stand'. If something else is confusing, just tell me.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. I'm just righting some wrongs and using the dorment possibilities of the show.  
**

**So, now enjoy the first chapter of: The Way to a Witch's Heart**

**Enjoy reading.**

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Chapter 1:

A week had passed since Damon put the witch on top of his 'to do'-list. That the little witch didn't know anything about it yet didn't disturb the vampire. The most important person (Damon himself) was privy to it and that was all that mattered at the moment.

No one else needed to know and Bonnie would find out soon enough – he would make sure of it. _She does know that she's my 'true love', so she shouldn't be all that surprised._ However, he experienced himself how stubborn his little witch could be. Those mind tricks she loved to play on him did hurt quite a bit.

The last few days Damon had used every excuse he could think of to be around Bonnie every chance he got. At first, she didn't behave any different to the time before – a bit icy and short towards him but nothing new. Then, she was pissed and even started to yell at him in the middle of a street. Now, she didn't react to him at all. It seemed as if she came to terms with the fact that they crossed paths continually. If the witch suspected anything she kept quiet.

Stefan was a different case. He was the only one who seemed to be curious about Damon's behavior – _or not. He always wanted to know where I went, what I did and who. If he weren't my brother I would think he had the hots for me. _Since Damon's recovery it got worse. Now, his brother asked him about every little detail of his life and even how Bonnie was doing. Why should he know? He and the witch weren't friends before. It all changed when he'd laid there dying. However, Stefan's new sparked interest seemed strange.

Nevertheless, Damon had no clue how to make Bonnie his. And more importantly how to tell those teenage horn dogs to keep their eyes by themselves. Opposed to the witch, Damon saw all those glances those little boys sent her way – even if she didn't.

Until now, those high school jocks kept their distance to the witch but Damon wasn't so sure it would stay that way. After they saw that some younger boy had chances with her there was nothing to deter them anymore. Furthermore, her biggest concurrences were out of her way. Elena and Caroline were in committed relationships. There was no one she had to back off for.

This afternoon Damon pretended to take a walk and to pass Bonnie's home coincidentally – sadly, it wasn't the first afternoon he stooped so low.

History did have the tendency of repeating itself.

Damon Salvatore was the definition of a 'fool in love' – the woman didn't matter for his behavior. One thing, however, Damon did know: he found the right girl this time – and it wasn't just because he decided to trust the magic.

Bonnie knew who she was. She didn't need any of the silly little games Katherine loved to play. That bitch had a thing for brothers – or more like: for separating brothers. The vampire loved to watch the final showdown when brothers who'd used to be close fought over her. Those silly little boys she could wrap around her finger. They'd done anything for her – and that bitch got off on that power.

The most important thing for the young Bennett witch was her family – it didn't matter if blood related or per friendship. The witch would do anything to protect the ones she loved. That trait was one of the things Damon had always admired about the girl. Even back in the days when her powers hadn't been powerful she stood up to a guy who was older and taller than her. Most other people were intimidated by Damon but Bonnie hadn't backed off and had defended Caroline.

Bonnie wouldn't stand between brothers. And she wouldn't play all innocent being with one brother and lusting after the other. Even though Elena wasn't like Katherine she played with both brothers. She was like a bouncy ball bouncing from one brother to the other and claiming to love Stefan. Damon didn't doubt that she loved his brother but he didn't believe her behavior fair to him and his brother. She was his brother's love and he would do anything for her – he even offered his life for hers and that of her family. It wasn't fair to Damon either. After Elena knew the story of Katherine, what she'd done to both of them and Damon's devotion to her. Hell, even her best friend's grams died because of what Katherine had done. But the Gilbert girl couldn't pick a guy and keep another one around. And it wasn't the first time she did that either. The summer after her parents' deaths she chose Stefan but tried to keep Matt around. She had a tendency of stringing boys along.

His Bonnie wouldn't do such a thing. She would decide whom she wanted to be with and broke it off with the other one – no fooling around whatsoever. She would make up her mind before she pursuit one person.

He admired and detested that quality. How was he supposed to win a girl with such strong believes over? She knew who he was and the things she knew were enough for her to dislike him. He'd killed her grandmother, her confidant. He didn't know how she should be able to forgive him – ever. Hell, over 150 years after his mother's death and he wasn't over it yet.

How in the fucking world was he supposed to convince her?

Right now, Damon was passing the witch's house for the third time. It was pathetic. But he couldn't do anything against it. One time he'd forced himself to walk away. After a few hours in the Grill and then in the woods hunting he found himself alone in the Boarding House. Pictures of Bonnie had been passing in front of his eyes – Bonnie laughing, Bonnie smiling, Bonnie nervous, Bonnie surprised, Bonnie biting her lip, Bonnie crying. Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie. It had been driving him insane.

However, alcohol hadn't been the solution this time. With every sip his longing had become more prominent until he'd found himself perched upon a tree next to Bonnie's room watching his little witch. After that he'd given up on pretending. When he wanted to see her he would.

All of his pondering, however, didn't help him. The vampire still had no clue how to make Bonnie his.

"Damon!" Suddenly, he heard his name being screamed. First, he froze in shock. Had she seen him moving up and down her street? Then he put his poker face on and turned into Bonnie's direction.

"What's going on? Are you following me?" The vampire smirked. _Yeah Damon, that's probably the right way to convince her. Keep on annoying her. – Arrgh. She'll never want you._

"Because that's likely. Just because I saved your life – once again might I add – doesn't mean that I like you or that I'm now obsessed with you." The witch rolled her eyes. For once, she was glad for a vampire trait. Even from this distance Damon could clearly see her eyes.

"See, I told you so." The vampire didn't know how to suppress his snarky remarks. After all those years there wasn't any chance to be like – god forbid – Stefan.

Within seconds Damon stood in front of Bonnie invading the girl's personal space. Bonnie did visibly not feel comfortable but the man couldn't help himself. Her hair just smelled soo damn good.

"So, what we'll do about it?" Damon's voice dropped making his voice seductive as he whispered into Bonnie's ear.

A shudder went down the girl's back even though the rest of her body was rigid. The witch hated to admit it but Damon had an effect on her. Damn, he was hot. And after the whole ordeal of him almost dying and the 'True Love's Kiss' – _I still can't believe that's true, it sounds like something out of a bad movie _– the romantic in her started to ponder the what ifs. Finding one's true love through a kiss? Wasn't it the dream of every girl to find her 'one' in a dramatic way? And wasn't it also the dream of every girl to be sure about her 'one'?

However, that was the problem. It was Damon Salvatore she was thinking about. Someone who ruined her life and did everything he could to aggravate her. They'd never gotten along when the situations hadn't called for it. _But when it did you two managed to work together. You even trusted him more than anyone else of your friends at the 60ies dance. He was the one who knew what was going on and he didn't leave you behind on the ground at the school. He took care of you._ Why had her life turned out to be so complicated?

For a few seconds all they did was to stare into each others eyes. Then Damon leaned into Bonnie and inched closer to her lips. Right before their lips met a car came around the corner and shook Bonnie out of her trance. Shocked she took a few steps back. What was she about to do? This couldn't be true. Damon Salvatore of all people! Her frenemy! (Why did she listen to Caroline and all her gossip? What person uses 'frenemy'?)

"Damon, leave me alone." Bonnie had a grip on herself again. One glance in her eyes told Damon better to back off for now. The little witch wasn't joking anymore. With an internal sigh he put some distance between them.

"See you soon, Judgey. You know you can't keep your distance." The vampire winked at her and then he was gone.

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Bonnie didn't know what to do or what do think. Ever since that night Bonnie couldn't leave the thought of 'what if' alone. On one hand she didn't want Damon to be her one – her worst enemy until few months ago when Klaus emerged. He was obsessive, sarcastic, put himself and Elena above everything else and challenged her on every single occasion. On the other hand he was sarcastic, he challenged her on every occasion, he protected and defended what he loved – no matter what he had to do for it. And they got along as far as they could get along. The witch didn't know how to feel about him anymore. Most of the characteristics that annoyed her about the vampire also resembled the things she found attractive about him.

Bonnie couldn't help herself but to imagine how'd it be to be Damon's love. To be the one he would do anything for to protect and defend her. Her best friends had boyfriends most of the time – they never went for a long time without guys by their sides. And now, Elena had Stefan and Caroline had Tyler. Both of their boyfriends were privy to – and even part of – the supernatural world.

On bad days the teenage witch couldn't help but wonder how'd it be to have someone there to support her. Someone who was strong and could take on everything that went on. Even though Jeremy had tried his best it was obvious that he, too, was still a teenager. He had to find himself before he could be the shoulder to cry on for someone whose life was as messed up as hers.

Though all of his flaws – and Bonnie didn't want and couldn't deny those – she knew Damon had the possibility to be that shoulder. In his arms she could feel save – the 60ies dance showed her so.

And Damon following her didn't help one bit. She tried to ignore him and to scream at him but he didn't care. So now she just went on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. However, when he was prancing along her street a few times a day she got furious. How was she supposed to think clearly with him being a steady reminder of that night and the magic she (Was it really her and not Elena?) performed.

Determined not to fall for Damon's games Bonnie made up her mind. She didn't want to risk her sanity and would stay clear off Damon. If the magic and the stories were true they would both realize it soon enough. No need to ponder the possibilities. However, the stunt Damon pulled that afternoon wouldn't get her to fall for him. It told her why she fought him that often.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

Thank you for all your reviews and for everyone who put my story (or the prequel) and me to their alerts and favs. Thank you for supporting something that started off as a simple 'what if' idea of a relationship expert (at least for others). ^^

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was, probably never will be. Just helping stubborn vampires and witches to see the light.

Thanks to my beta **XcastielXNovakX **who made reading this a lot more comprehensible.

Chapter 2:

Sitting in his armchair in his room at the Boarding House, Damon wondered how he could win the witch over.

Honestly, why did he even bother? Clearly, she didn't want him. She may have been attracted to his body and their fights but Damon was pretty sure she didn't consider him for a relationship – hell, before the whole werewolf bite and all of its consequences he himself hadn't considered himself as boyfriend material. Not in the normal way. Not with honesty, commitment and trust.

The closest thing to a real relationship Damon had ever had had been a relationship like the one he'd had with Andie. The Bennett witch wouldn't stand for any of that crap. He'd have to make an effort – constantly. In other words he'd have to behave himself and act in ways he always made fun of Stefan for. So why did he still try?

The answer was easy enough: He was Damon Salvatore. He always got what he wanted and he l-o-v-e-d a good challenge.

And, though he hated to admit it, Bonnie was probably his last chance for happiness. Truth be told he really felt … something … for Bonnie. Every time they fought he got excited. Every time he managed to piss her off he felt euphoric. However, when someone else threatened the witch or enraged her Damon got sour. No one – and he meant **no one** – had the right to do just that but him.

All of his musings, however, didn't get him any closer to the witch. He needed a plan to chase her. It was all so much easier when he could compel his targets. Damn witches!

Slowly, Damon swirled the scotch in the crystal glass he held in his hand staring intently at its content. If he stared long enough perhaps he was able to see what he should do next. _Grow some balls! You lost them somewhere along your way._ His mind tried to spite him.

Sadly, he knew his unconscious mind wasn't as wrong as he would have liked. The last few months took their toll on him. He wasn't the same ruthless psychopath that came into town just about a year ago. And though he wasn't sad about that – he even had something like a friend again and some strange relationship with his brother – he couldn't look into the mirror and remember all the things he did to win Elena over.

It wasn't even that he turned his emotions back on. Or even that he tried to make the girl who looked like Katherine jealous with one of her best friends. It wasn't even the matter that he tried to be the 'good guy' for her. Honestly, most of those things were a positive result. They even helped him to form a bond with his Judgey.

However, his antics turned out of proportion. He lost himself along the way of being the 'good guy'. He tried everything he could to be accepted by Elena. And what good did it do him? None, that's what. Damon was, again, someone's dark not-so-secret secret.

There was another thing that bothered him. He knew that he was cursed – he was a vampire after all. But did the first Bennett witch he met not only bond him to her own lineage but also to the Gilbert lineage? Was there a single Gilbert woman with whom he didn't sleep with or tried to sleep with? Katherine, Isobel, Jenna (even though it had been more of a flirt relationship than anything), Elena. And knowing his luck there probably had been a few ancestors between Katherine and Isobel.

Did Emily know what she was doing? Did she know about Bonnie and her best friend? Had it been Emily's way of binding him to the Gilbert line so that he was prone to find Bonnie? Had this been Emily's way of securing him in the close proximity to Bonnie? And by binding him to the Gilbert women Emily took care that he didn't sleep with one of Bonnie's ancestors? He could only imagine her reaction to such a revelation.

Opposed to Elena who didn't seem to mind (not enough to keep her distance at least) that he slept with her great-great-grandmother (What was Katherine to her, anyway?) and with her mother before he got to the latest generation, Bonnie wouldn't have been to keen to let someone who went through the female members of her lineage close to her. That would have been a disaster waiting to happen.

_And again you're searching for someone else to blame. Ever thought that it all had been because of Katherine? _

"Shut up, mind!", the vampire growled.

_See, you^'re trying it again. Ever thought that you had been so deep in love with Katherine that you've looked for women who looked similar to her? _

Damon snorted. "That explains Caroline and all the other blondes and redheads."

_But for those you didn't care. Who was the one you loved for over a century? Who was the one you did a favor for in turning her into a vampire? And who was the one you tried to get your last century and your humanity back from? _

"Shut up!", Damon yelled and the glass in his hand shuttered against the stone wall next to the fireplace. He hated it when someone else was right. It didn't even matter that it was his own mind. "I've definitely drank too much. That's it. I'll never drink again."

_And the pope is a Muslim. _

Sometimes Damon hated himself and his smart aleck ways.

However, he still wasn't any closer to make the Bennett witch his. If he didn't find a way soon he was positive someone else would come in and steal her away. With his luck Jeremy would come back to her and tell her he's sorry for breaking things up the way he did and that he loved her for her selflessness. Before the older Salvatore let that happen he'd become a monk!

Frustrated, Damon shook his head. Pondering what to do never did him any good. That was his brother's forte. He was one for action. He was the impulsive one. He was full of fire. That's why Bonnie could handle him. Somehow, she was a combination of fire, impulsiveness and planning, calmness.

If she wanted to play hard to get he would do what he could do best – _okay, second best. _The other thing he would do to her after she was his, the vampire thought smugly. If he learned anything in almost 150 years being a vampire and longing for a woman being kept in a tomb unable to reach it was how to be persistent. And that was exactly what he was going to do with Bonnie.

If she didn't want to speak with him he would bother her as long as it would take for her to cave. It did work out before. 'Cause Damon was pretty sure that the witch hadn't wanted to tell him about the magic and its meaning.

With his new revolve Damon headed to the Bennett home. He was going to annoy her until she would let him in so that they could talk. About what, Damon had no clue, but it didn't matter at this instant. He would cross that bridge when he got to it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** First of all, special thanks to Alexxya8989 and DamonBonnie Salvatore for encouraging me. I loved your nice words and your reviews. And also thank you to all those who reviewed (and especially to the anonymous reviewers silly13 and Vie – thank you for all your reviews to both stories – and jewelsstars and Alexxya8989) and everyone who added my story or me to their alerts and favorites. I really appreciate all of your support – hope you all know that.

The next update will probably take some time 'cause I'm going to be away for two weeks with neither internet nor computer. Just to give a heads up.

And to everyone who's going to watch the EURO 2012: Good luck for your team (as long as you're not playing against mine :p ).

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not the characters. Not anything else in Mystic Falls. And I'm not making any money with it (damn!). But the mistakes and errors are all mine.

Enough with all the talking and on to the story. Enjoy reading.

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**Chapter 3:**

Sitting in her bed Bonnie was reading a book. After all that happened in the last few weeks she really needed an evening just for herself. A good book, her comfortable bed and junk food right next to her was what she graved. Just letting herself go and forget what was happening around her.

Just when the teenage girl was about to doze off she heard someone banging against the front door of her house. A few moments later the banging was accompanied with some shouting of her name. Who else should it have been but the psychotic vampire? Of course it was Damon Salvatore disturbing her perfectly calm and peaceful evening.

"Leave me alone!" Bonnie knew that just ignoring Damon wouldn't do any good. Not when he was knocking her door down (quite possible even). "I have nothing to say to you!"

Did his witch honestly believe she would get rid of him that easily? Didn't she know him at all? "I can do that the whole night. And you know I don't care about what other people think. It's going to be your neighbors who'll come and complain to you and probably your dad."

Damn that vampire! Why did he always know how to push her buttons? There was never a time when he and herself didn't rub each other the wrong way. Reluctantly, the girl let him in. There wasn't much else she could do – he was right and she knew it. How she hated that.

In typical Damon style the vampire walked confidently into her home and up to her room all the while with a satisfied smile on his lips. "Spit!" Damon looked funny at the witch and she knew he would twist her words. "Why should I spit into your room or onto your bed?", the vampire asked with fake innocence. His amusement was quite visible in his eyes.

"Damon, stop that. You know what I meant so talk. Why did you come here? What do you want? What spell do you need? Is this about you? Elena? Stefan? Alaric? Another person who'd kidnapped me? Who?"

With each word Damon felt worse. The witch was right. They never came to her for anything else but a spell which most of the time even endangered her own life. In all honesty, as of late he'd never seen their relation in that way. Bonnie had made it clear that she despised Damon and all other vampires. She even had turned her back on her best friend when Caroline had had no clue what had been going on. Therefore, it had seemed logical to leave her out of their everyday lives and just go to her when there hadn't been another solution and all their lives had depended on her – worst case scenario. Their own Rambo who'd come into play when there had been no way out so he could take on every evil person (and armies) on his own and save the day. Their secret weapon. Damon had always thought it was a win-win situation.

The last few days, however, had brought him to a new insight. For Bonnie it must have looked like they had not wanted to have anything to do with her besides risking her life so that everyone else had been save. Some sayings seemed to be true after all: the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

In that moment standing there right in front of Bonnie Damon swore to himself that he would do anything so that the lonely teenage girl never ever felt left out and only used for her blood and magic again. He would make sure that she knew she was being noticed. He would do anything necessary so that she would feel as appreciated as she was by him – and after his new resolve towards her it was a damn lot.

"I am here for you."

Bonnie snorted. What the hell was he playing? He was Damon and she was Bonnie. They had a I-won't-follow-through-with-my-threat-of-killing-you/ hate relationship (you couldn't call what they had a love/hate relationship. There was no love between them – of that Bonnie was sure). Why was he claiming he was here for her? Slowly, the Bennett witch became afraid something really bad had happened. Did he snap again? Had he had a run-in with Klaus? A fight with Elena? Had he trouble with one of his flings? Did one had vervain injected and he couldn't compel her? Did he need her witchy ju ju to make the girl forget? _Oh goddess, what has he done?_

Bonnie was freaking out and she knew it. And jumping to conclusions didn't help any. What was happening with her? She was the strong one, the rock for her friends. She didn't freak – never. However, the man in front of her was capable of doing the unknown. That vampire was so irritating! _Breath, Bonnie, breath!_

"Stop being so dramatic and tell me what you're here for!" At least her voice still held that irritated tinge to it.

"I'm here for **you**!"

"What for? What. Do. I. Need. To. Do?" Was he going mental? _I asked him a simple question and he acts like he's trying to explain the theory of relativity to a three year old. If one of us acts like a little kid it's him!_

"Stop pretending you don't know why I'm here!", the vampire growled. Hell, she had been the one to tell him how she had saved him. Why was she so damn stubborn? Like hell she didn't know. She was the one who'd found the entry in one of her cookbooks. She was the one who'd brought him back. She was the one who'd told him about his wondrous healing. She was the one he was stalking the last week. She was … she was the one.

Until now Damon had only thought about Bonnie and the possible 'what if's. And he'd known he'd felt something for her. Something more than friendship and more than just care. He'd known he'd wanted to make the little witch his. But after his internal ranting it was real. It wasn't just a 'what if' scenario, a dream he had but nothing more. It wasn't like the visions he had had about a happily ever after (literally) with Katherine or the illusions he'd indulged in about Elena.

This was real.

Suspiciously, Bonnie stared at the vampire ignorant to his musings. Something was off about him, however, she couldn't pinpoint it. During the last few days Damon had acted really weird – even for him. Ever since … _Oh no! No, no, no, no! This can't be true. He doesn't believe in that shit. He is Damon freaking Salvatore. Homicidal vampire. He doesn't believe in stuff like that. He can't stand me. _Bonnie was freaking out for the second time in a short while. Even though she had thought about the possibility of being Damon's True Love they were just that – thoughts. But with his behavior it became all too real.

"Damon, we talked about that. You know that it can't be real. We can't stand each other. It was probably Elena's kiss anyhow", Bonnie tried to reason with the vampire. It was all just too much to handle for the seventeen year old high school girl. In movies seventeen year old high school girls were playing games, were lusting after their latest crush, had the school heart throbs suddenly after them and their biggest trouble was what to wear, if they looked fat in special jeans (even though everyone else wished they had their figures) and if their boyfriends were honest with them. There was never anything about a guy 150 years older than them obsessing about them. Why, oh why had her life turned out to be that complicated?

_But you have the heart throb chasing after you. Not only the heart throb of your high school but of the entire town. You should be honored. And you know you are. You just don't want to admit it. _Now, the teenage witch understood why Damon was as often irritated by her as he was. Her mind was honestly a burden. Damn it.

Damon didn't know why. He knew what the witch was thinking of him but her words did cut deep. Why couldn't he just for once meet a girl he liked that liked him and wasn't as complicated as all the women in the past? _And why do I sound like a kid in elementary? _Why couldn't it be like it had been with Rose? Without the kidnapping part. And if they were lucky, perhaps without the being chased part? It didn't matter though. Somehow he knew Bonnie was his **one**. **His** little witch.

It was time to face the music.

"Bonnie, you were the one who found the cure. I'm sure you read the warnings. I may be reckless but I'm not stupid. I did some research of my own. I know what it says. So, let's talk." His voice was smooth, low and sinful. With every word the vampire leaned in closer to Bonnie – it was a strange combination of intimidation and intimacy. Being that close to the handsome man Bonnie felt those weird feelings again. She knew what they were but she couldn't admit them. If she'd be honest about them, she knew they would lead to trouble. Therefore, the witch tried everything to clear the fog that had taken a hold of her thoughts. Damn him and his proximity. It would be so easy to close the small gap between their lips. She could almost taste them.

But that could never happen. He wasn't hers and they couldn't stand each other. The teenage with repeated those words again and again in her head using them as some kind of mantra. Even if she'd been able to leave all the things he'd done and all those things she'd blamed him for behind, it would only lead to heartbreak – her heartbreak. And she couldn't allow this. She couldn't give the man she'd despised for so long that much power over her. She just couldn't.

Fighting her inner urges – damn those raging hormones – she turned her face away from him. Not looking into his mesmerizing eyes or to his kissable lips (_Why, Bonnie? Get a grip on yourself. Stop thinking about him in that way. Stay strong. You promised yourself never to act like Caroline when it comes to boys. Concentrate!_) it was easier to ignore what was happening between them. After a few moments relishing in his proximity Bonnie stepped away from – dare she say it – her vampire.

"Look, I don't know what you want me to say. I found a cure, we saved you. We don't even know for sure who saved you. Was it me? Or was it Elena? So, don't get ahead of yourself. It probably meant nothing. We mean nothing. And you know it." The girl couldn't help herself. Her speech was meant to sound strong, her words, however, sounded anything but. Some hidden sadness was palpable.

"What if I want to change that?" No time like the present to make her see what was right in front of her. "What if I want to try?"

"Damon … don't. Please, don't do that to me. After all that happened and after all we went through together please don't try to play games with me. I'm tired, really I am. I'm tired of all of those crap that's happening. Don't make our lives more complicated than they already are." Bonnie hated herself for admitting defeat in front of Damon. It wasn't because of him – not anymore – but because she lost her guard around another person. She was the strong one, the reliable one, she couldn't afford it to let her guard down. But now, she'd done it. Silent tears were running down her cheeks.

"I'm not playing any games with you. Why is it so hard for you to believe my words? Like you said after all that happened and after all we went through together I thought we were over that." If she didn't knew it any better she would have believed him. His eyes, his wonderful magical icy-hot eyes, showed great hurt. Bonnie wasn't able to endure his look any longer and closed her eyes. However, she still felt him getting closer again and whispering in her ear. "Just wait. I'm going to proof it to you. I'm being honest with you."

When the little witch opened her eyes again the vampire had disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** First of all thank you to everyone who reviewed and/ or added my story or me to their alerts or even favorites. I really, truly appreciate all of them. Special thanks to the "anonymous" reviewers Vie and jewelsstars for reviewing repeatedly and of course to BamonLoverr08.

Ravenshadow153: I think you owe me an update of 'The assignment'. ^^ Thanks for reviewing.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. If I did I'm sorry and thanks to you, too.

Something upfront. After all the commotion on FF because of the ratings I thought about raising the rating from T to M, so that there will be no ground for discussion because someone wants to complain about anything. If I'm going to do that it's because of a few curse words – nothing more and nothing less. For now, I didn't want to raise the rating 'cause if there are some readers out there who are listening to their parents and stick with stories appropriate for their age they should still be allowed to continue reading if they wish.

And I'll apologize right now. I'm sorry but there will be an explanation (of some sorts) in the next chapter. (When you've finished this chapter you'll know what I'm talking about).

**Disclaimer:** Neither the Vampire Diaries nor any of the characters or anything else you'll recognize belongs to me. Just the mistakes are mine.

So enough of my rambling and on with the story. Enjoy it!

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Chapter 4:

How to proof a stubborn witch in denial that he was being honest with her? With them? Being romantic had never been one of Damon's forte. He showed his affection with offering his life for the one he loved. Showing affection meant for Damon to be ready to die for your love. However, neither was Bonnie in a life threatening situation nor was she going to stand for any of that if such a situation would arise. Okay, who was he kidding. To all their dismay such a situation would probably come sooner than anyone wished for. His little witch, however, wouldn't allow him to sacrifice himself – she was too much of a martyr herself. And though he hated to admit it, he was honored that her conscience included him into the group she wanted to save (even when a bigger part of him hated her for such silly thoughts – she had so much more to live for than he ever had had and he was the man – it was his duty to protect her).

Suddenly, Damon had an idea how to – dare he think it – court Bonnie. At the same moment the vampire cursed. He was going to regret what he was about to do but it was for Bonnie. After he came to terms with the whole 'True Love's Kiss' and 'soul mate' thing there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his Judgey. With one last glance at the grandfather clock in the hall of the Boarding House Damon went on his way.

Shortly after, he arrived at his destination. Was he really about to do that? There had to be another way, wasn't there? Though a whole week of pondering told him he had no choice but to follow through with this plan. Strengthening his resolve he knocked at his kin's door. (It still felt strange to address dumb blonde vampire barbie that.)

"Damon? What do you want?" Wow, déjà vue much? Why couldn't anyone ever say 'Hey Damon, nice to see ya' or 'Hi Damon, come in' or anything along those lines? Why was it always 'Damon, what do you want', 'Damon, what are you doing here' (and not in a nice, curious tone) or it was a 'Hell-oo Damon, come on in' (Why did anyone think that a prolonged 'hello' was seductive?)

"Caroline", he needed her help, therefore he needed to be nice to her – for now, "I need your help." There, he said it. "Okay, so what are you really doing here?", the cheerleader asked. _What? Am I speaking Italian or what? She does know that I hate it to ask for help. _"I told you what I am doing here. So stop making yourself dumber than you already are."

Acknowledging defeat the blonde let the other vampire enter her home. There wasn't much she good do anyway and knowing Damon it was easier to relent than to fight him for half an hour and then to cave. And it wasn't save to talk about those things out in the open – least of all in a town with a long history of hunting down everything supernatural.

"You're a girl." _Way to go Damon, nice. What are you, twelve?_ Caroline just stood there watching him. Something was definitely off but she hadn't a single clue what it was. Ever since Damon was healed of the werewolf bite he acted strange. Not gracing him with a response to his observation the blonde vampire only raised one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"You're a girl and I need your help. It's about your best friend", he tried to coax her. "Elena isn't my best friend. That's Bonnie", Caroline stated.

"This is about her." Did she hear that right? Damon was here, in her home, because he needed her help with something for Bonnie? That couldn't be true.

Then it dawned on the former cheer captain. "Damon, she is my best friend. I won't help you hurt her. And I won't help you to convince her to risk her life for one of your little schemes. And before you do something stupid – more stupid than what's usual for you – I tell you I will **not **let you hurt her. Capici?" Bonnie had done so much for her since they'd become friends way back when, now the least she could do was to stand up to Damon for her.

"That's not why I'm here. Sheesh, why do you always think all I do is causing havoc? – Okay, okay. But it isn't like that", Damon tried to redeem. "It is never 'like that' with you. It's always 'her' or 'him' and you're not guilty. So say what you want. I have better things to do than to waste my time." The blonde naïve cheerleader he'd met a year ago really had changed becoming a vampire. _And she's spending too much time around you. She doesn't fear you anymore._

"Okay, you know that Tyler bit me. And that a werewolf bite is deadly for a vampire." Caroline still wasn't convinced. What was he getting at? She knew all that – and like always Damon Salvatore had been a lucky b stard and survived the inescapable. "Did they tell you how I survived it?" The blonde vamp shook her head. That was a new revelation – all they had told her was that Bonnie had found some kind of cure in one of the grimoires.

"It was Bonnie's doing. She went through all her grimoires – or the ones she owns now anyway – and searched for days for a cure. And when she did find it she helped me." He wouldn't reveal more about the requirements than he needed to. Now, for the difficult part. "I … I want to thank her." It was out in the open. Even though he knew that this wasn't his real reason it was all he was willing to give to the blonde.

The girl standing in front of him didn't look like she knew why he was there. Didn't he spell it out for her? It was obvious why he was there. Did she wanted to be asked? Did he have to lower himself and beg her? 'Cause then, he was gone. He was Damon f*cking Salvatore (in more ways than one – thank you very much) he never begged. He was the one people begged for – sex, style, money. And it didn't matter what sex they were (or gender) – he was popular with everyone (everyone but the witch. Though he was about to change that).

"I want to thank the witch and you know her longer than I do. So, you need to help." Now, it dawned on the other vampire – and for once she was speechless. That had to be a first for the egoistical, stoic, arrogant vampire in front of her.

Damon on the other hand hated this whole situation but there wasn't any other solution because he depended on her in that moment.

"I'm not going to help you prank her or to make fun of her. She's my best friend." Yeah, she definitely wasn't the girl anymore who would do anything for a good looking guy she didn't know. Turning into a vampire had made hidden traits more prominent and the reasons why she was close with his little witch were coming to the forefront. The times when she backed down from him were long gone. Damn it all to hell! And he couldn't even compel her! He needed to be honest with her – something he didn't even do for Elena – something he hadn't done since he'd been human.

Life was cruel like that. Or there really was a greater deity who was right now laughing their ass off. Forcing him to put himself at the mercy of someone who'd been at his mercy not that long ago. Karma **was** a b*tch!

"I'm actually honest here. Ya, ya, don't look at me like that. I mean it. She saved me – and though I hate to admit it – this wasn't the first time. I owe her. That's where you come into play. What does she want?" Inconspicuously, Damon felt if his balls were where they should be or if he really did lose them. Everything was at his place even though it didn't feel like that to him at the moment.

Caroline was dumbfounded. Was he for real? After all she knew about and experienced with him here he was asking for her help to do something NICE for the one person he butted more head with then with his brother? He couldn't be serious, could he? Scrutinizing him the blonde girl decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Bonnie was her best friend and after everything she went through – a lot of it caused by the Salvatore brothers coming back into their hometown – she deserved something nice. If she noticed that Damon was trying to frame her, she could stop the whole thing. The times when he was able to make her do anything he wanted her to do were long over. At least something good was in her turning.

"Okay, I'll help. -But- just because I'm such a good friend. To Bonnie. I couldn't care less about you. And just so you know the minute I get the feeling something is off about the deal I'm going to stop it and I'm going to turn the rest of your undead life into a nightmare. Believe me, if you think what you did to Stefan the last 150 years was bad you haven't even started to comprehend what I'm capable of doing. So, what do you have in mind?" Switching from bitchy to threatening to nice in just under a millisecond.

Damn it! He needed her. There were so many things he wanted to say to her "thread" but he was pretty sure she would be pissed off after that and would go back on her word. Answering just the last part of her response was the easier way to go. "I don't know. What do you think I'm doing here? And don't kid yourself into believing it was for the company." Okay, he was an asshole but there wasn't anyone who or anything which could change him. Not after going onto 200 years.

"So you have nothing? Honestly? You do know that when – or it's you so **if** is more likely – you want to make a gift to someone, it should be from you. But like I said I'm helping Bonnie here. What do you want for her? You **need** to have any clues. Something nice or practical? Jewelry, clothes, shoes? And don't you dare and say a broomstick or a wand", the blonde vampire instructed, "So, what do you want to spent on her?"

* * *

When he'd thought earlier this morning going to Caroline and asking her for help was going to be a nightmare he'd never imagined going shopping with her. Those chicks in those pathetic girl movies had nothing on the blonde bossing him around in the mall. And to think that he did drive two and a half hours because he 'really didn't want to buy Bonnie something in those silly little shops around town. They were just so … uh!' (Just ask Caroline.)

"Why did I bring you? That's your job." Damon was aggravated. Why did he think it a great idea to ask Caroline? And what was he doing when she convinced him to go shopping?

"I know you never had to do anything on your own. As vampire you could just compel random people to do what you wanted to be done and when you were human you had all those servants to do 'Mr. Salvatore's' bidding. But I'm not your servant and you can't compel me – not anymore. Those times are over! And you need to comprehend that. I'm not your slave. So stop treating me like one." There were a lot of things Caroline wanted to say to Damon. After all those months with her memories back her emotions were accumulating into a huge pressure. Now, however, wasn't the time to dwell in those memories. Taking a few deep breaths to regulate her – not there anymore – heartbeat she composed herself. "It's time you learn how to do some things on your own."

Damon didn't know what hit him. Why was it so difficult to meet someone who did as he asked them? He did ask her, it wasn't like he demanded it or anything. So why did she have to be so freaking stubborn? And she pretty damn well knew that he'd never asked. That's a once in a lifetime occurrence. She should appreciate it. He knew why he never honestly pursued a blonde. Too. Much. Trouble.

"You know what. Go. It's going to be easier to figure a gift out on my own than to listen to you trying to lecture me. That's just rich. And don't go blaming me for you being easy. That was all your doing. Do you honestly believe I would have gone after a FB whom I had to compel every few seconds because they didn't want to do what I wanted? You were more than willing to do those things. All you needed was some pushing and you were convinced." Yeah, he was an asshole. And he knew he shouldn't have said this stuff but she really did irritate him and enough was enough.

Caroline couldn't believe what she was hearing. He didn't just say that, did he? He compelled girls left and right wherever he went and now it was her own fault? She's supposed to be the one to blame after all he forced her to do? After almost killing her because he drank too much blood? After all those lies? After taking away her free will? The blonde vampire didn't know what to say, to think or how to react. Her mouth was agape but she didn't register anything. With one pointed look in Damon's direction Caroline turned on her heel and disappeared. There was no chance in hell she could stand his presence any longer after his spiteful words.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Here is the next chapter. And thank you again to all who reviewed and/ or added my story or me to their alerts or favorites. You're what keeps me writing – honestly, without you I hadn't even started this sequel. I appreciate all of your support dearly.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Vampire Diaries or any part, character or location of it. Furthermore, I don't own anything else you might recognize and neither do I own the other movies referred to.

Though, all remaining mistakes are mine.

Now, enough of me and on with the story. Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 5:

He did f*ck it up, didn't he? He knew he'd been in the wrong about the things he'd said to her, however, she'd pissed him off and when he's pissed he lashes out. It didn't matter who was standing in the line of fire and who was going down. As long as it wasn't him.

After wandering through the mall for another hour, however, he came to one conclusion: He needed Caroline's help. Damn it. Now there wasn't just a witch to win over anymore but to convince a stubborn, pissed and miffed former play toy to help him out. His life sucked!

Where would a girl like Caroline seek refuge in a mall? Being a man and well off Damon had no clue. When he wanted new clothes he went into boutiques – in New York or LA or when he wanted something special he went overseas to cities like London, Milan or Paris. Virginia wasn't his first place to look for designers.

Thanks to his vampire speed he didn't need to ponder long about her whereabouts. In seconds the vampire had checked the whole mall for his blonde companion. However, she wasn't to be found.

For once it was Damon's turn to admit defeat. (Even though he'd never admit that out loud.) Still not having a gift in mind for his little witch he decided to head back home. Walking out on the parking lot he a saw a familiar face sitting in his car. _What is she doing here? I though she was gone. Doesn't she know that she's a vampire and she can run home faster than we'll ever be in a car?_

"Caroline? What are you still doing here?" The older vampire couldn't completely hide his disbelieve.

With arms crossed and a strange mixed look of pouting and trying to stop crying sat the girl in the passenger seat of Damon's blue Camaro. If he hadn't regretted his words the moment they'd left his mouth, he would regret them now.

Just a few hours ago Damon wished for the old, human Caroline because she'd been insecure and therefore had tried almost everything to please everyone around her and to up them – especially Elena. However, seeing the young girl sitting in his passenger seat trying to look strong, to be strong, it reminded him too much of the girl he'd used the first few weeks back in town. And to his own astonishment – at least that was what he tried to convince himself of – he didn't like the sight and the feeling he got seeing the aftermath of her breakdown.

"Look at me. Would you like for someone you know to see you like this? My mascara is smeared all over my face. Just pronouncing the tear streaks. My eyes are red and puffy. My hair is distorted. I'm a crying mess. At least here, no one knows me. Just let me have this small ounce of dignity."

Some habits, it seemed, you can't let go off. He knew that all to well. And for Caroline to fret over such petty things and not remembering her vampire speed was fast enough that most humans didn't even see a blur was a dead give away of her emotional state.

Damon sighed. He knew he did f*ck up. Apologizing, however, wasn't one of his forte (damn, in the last few days he had to admit more weaknesses than he'd ever done in his whole life. _Damn that witch! Everything because of her._).

Using his vampire speed, Damon had the top of his car down and secured in the blink of an eye and sat himself in the driver seat. The coming talk was nothing for the public and they needed a bit of privacy.

_Where should I begin?_ Damon was completely lost. After another sigh, he begun. "Look Caroline, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Wow, it hadn't been as bad as he thought it to be.

Caroline, however, wasn't impressed. His accusations had brought all the contempt and hurt back to the forefront.

"So what? You expect me to say 'Oh, it wasn't that bad. I overreacted. I'm sorry, too. Please forgive me like I have forgiven you'. What do you expect me to say after you threw it in my face that it was my own doing which got me short-circuited! Acting like a marionette hanging on your strings! What do you expect? That everything is fine? That it wasn't as terrible as everyone is making it out to be. I mean, it was after all my fault that you almost killed me because you didn't stop sucking my blood few times a day and took too damn much. You want to say that?"

When she put it like that it really sounded bad. It didn't just sound that way, he knew on his own that what he'd been doing had been wrong – was wrong. And that whole thing about switching off your feelings? All crap.

Sure, most vampires tried to pretend that it was possible. He even had a talk about the switching off with Rose. However, it wasn't like she claimed it to be. It didn't become more difficult as time went by. The switch wasn't there in the first place.

Most newly turned vampires were ruthless – so far it was true. But that was nothing more than their own coping and survival mode kicking in. When suddenly everything is still the same but so much more at the same time, you're dead for everyone you'd ever cared for, everyone you loved and everyone who loved you, you're driven by this animalistic thirst for blood – something you found disgusting until a few minutes ago and now you can't concentrate yourself on anything else than to drink the appetizing warm liquid –, you try to comprehend what's going on, you try to regain a small part of control about something, anything, you do what you have to do to come to terms with the fact that YOU ARE DEAD.

It didn't matter that they still walked the face of the earth, their former selves, their lives were lost forever.

Some, like Damon, chose their ultimate death over an undead life.

Life, however, doesn't always play out as planned. Damon's way of dealing with the unfairness of it all, had been anger. The anger had kept him moving, kept him alive without noticing that his aggressiveness made him lose even more of his former self – including his baby brother.

His anger issues didn't mean he was blind to the chaos and misery he was leaving in his wake. What he'd done to Caroline had all been the reaction of what had been going on. Impulse. Afterward he'd felt kind of bad for it – not bad per se but he'd gotten a strange feeling in his guts. He'd known what he'd been doing had been wrong but conscious thoughts had come back when the damage had been done.

Again, Damon sighed. He needed to tell her all of that. Damn it, damn it, damn it! What had his live come to?

"Caroline, listen. I'm …. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I said all that stuff in there and I'm sorry I did all that to you. It was wrong." Hopefully, he was done with lowering himself. Though, the unimpressed look on the blonde's face told him, he'd still had a lot of crawling to do.

"I know my words probably don't mean a lot to you. But sometimes I do things I don't have to do." And then he did his creepy/ endearing eye thing which always got him what he wanted.

The girl on his passenger seat still didn't look convinced. He needed to pull out all the stops. With his left hand he reached over to Caroline. Softly, he put his hand on Caroline's cheek and with a gentle but certain grip he turned her face so that she was looking at him. Streaking the tears away he murmured "I'm sorry."

Caroline just stared at him. "Do you really think this is working on me again? You have another thing coming." However, she couldn't quite hide the smile. She knew his small act or even his words shouldn't make her forgive him. But he **was** Damon Salvatore and if she knew one thing about him for sure, he **never** apologized. And this one even sounded sincere.

Taking a deep breath, the high school girl just wanted to forget everything – her past actions and the last hour. "Damon, it isn't as easy as that. It isn't alright and it'll never be. But I guess enough time has passed for us to move on. Don't bring it up ever again!"

Damon was relieved. He could live with that.

"Okay, and I mean it."

After a few minutes of pure silence in the Camaro Damon got restless. First, he tried to ignore it and give Caroline a few more moments to collect herself. The peace didn't last long.

"How about some shopping?"

* * *

"So, do you have now any idea what you want to get Bonnie? You know, something personal? Something that has a hidden meaning?", Caroline inquired curious.

_Oh shit!_ Had he been this obvious?

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at the deer-in-the-headlight- look Damon was currently showing. If she hadn't thought that his explanations that morning had been a load of crap, she'd now have known that they all had been silly excuses.

"Don't look like that. It's pretty obvious. You're only kind to people when you want something in return. All of your 'thanking Bonnie' stuff seemed fishy. I just went along 'cause I wanted to know what's going on. And then, just outside in that car of yours, you being all nice and gentle – to me no less – that was a dead give-away. There's more behind your chivalrous way than just a thank you to a person you barely tolerate." A superior smile brightened Caroline's face.

"You like her, don't you?"

His silence was answer enough for the girl and the smile on her face brightened even more.

Suddenly, she was half walking, half dancing backwards in front of him and started to singsong. "You think she's gorgeous, You want to kiss her, You want to hug her … You want to love her … You want to hug her … You want to smooch her … You want to …"

"That's enough!" Damon didn't know if he was supposed to be embarrassed for her or if he was pissed. What was she doing in the middle of the mall? Was she completely insane? "What are you doing?" If she started to sing and dance like those stupid kids in their stupid High School in those stupid Disney movies, he would probably end up killing her – it wasn't as if she'd stayed dead.

"Nothing, just enjoying my victory. That must be the first time **the** Damon Salvatore admitted defeat. I got you. Oh, and I'm happy for Bonnie. I know she's my best friend and I shouldn't say that but she needs to get laid. She isn't herself anymore. The funny, happy, flirtatious and lively girl you met first back in town – that girl is Bonnie. The last months changed everyone, I know. But nowadays Bonnie is sarcastic, frowning and mean to most people. She's just unhappy and lonely. And don't get me started on that relationship with Jeremy. What did she think getting together with Elena's little brother. Whose girlfriend died as consequence of one of her new antics. She needs a real relationship. Someone who knows her and who knows what she wants and needs. And though I hate to say it, your arguing seems to excite both of you. You banter, you insult each other, never missing a beat. You're a good match. If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Neither Caroline nor Damon could believe she just gave him the okay to pursuit Bonnie.

"So,we're at the beginning again. What do you want to get her?" This time the cheerleader asked with an honest smile on her lips.

* * *

Damon was nervous. He'd never thought he would be nervous again about a girl – not after his transformation.

But here he was, standing in front of Bonnie's house. All he needed to do was knock. Or ring the bell. Or do anything to make her aware of his presence.

That was his problem. She didn't like his presence most of the time. But how was he supposed to convince her when he didn't know what to say to her, how to react or how to behave when she was close?

What if she didn't like his presents? What if she refused them? What if she'd laughed at him? What if …

There was no time for what ifs. He needed to act his age – his visible age – and be a man. His father would have beaten him up for behaving like a little girl.

With a last sigh, he squared his shoulders and knocked at Bonnie's door.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the lack of Bamon in the last chapters. I did ponder if I should include Damon/ Caroline or just to let them shop and end it there. However, I thought that Bonnie would have great apprehension against a relationship with Damon if his past wrong-doings (the ones concerning her friends and acquaintances) weren't dealt with. That's why I thought I'd let them sort it out. In the next chapter we'll be back on track.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the long wait but this time I had to do some research for the story. And I'd thought by not following the show I could avoid that – so much for my idea. If it seems as if I have no clue what I'm talking about (you'll know what I mean), it's because I really don't. ^^ Anyone else confused? Yes? Oops...

Before I'll let you read the chapter, I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed (especially here the anonymous reviewers damonfan and Vie – Vie, I love to hear your opinion to the story and the characters' actions. Thanks for reviewing continuously) or added my story or me as author to their alerts or even favorites. I'm blown away.

And special thanks to another Bamon fan and writer. I'm sorry that I can't remember in which story I read it but thank you for reminding me that there are more extraordinaire undergarments than just the usual VS.

**Disclaimer:** The Vampire Diaries and everything connected to it belong to their rightful owners (not me). And so does everything else you might recognize and especially the brands and designers. I don't even own one cloth of theirs. Just the mistakes, THEY. ARE. MINE!

Now, enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 6:

Bonnie was sitting in her room. It seemed that this was the only thing she was doing as of late. Sitting alone in her room. Or risking her life because she got involved into someone else's mess.

At the beginning, it was a nice change to all the hectic and chaos she had with school and cheerleading and being a Bennett witch. Even more, being a Bennett witch in Mystic Falls and being friends or something like that with a bunch of vampires, a werewolf/hybrid, a man-Buffy who's best friend was the one thing who'd killed his wife, a doppelganger, a queen-bee former cheer captain, the town's own little Miss-Perfect, one serial killer with remorse and a vulnerable ice-hearted soul-mate.

If that didn't sound like the plot of some petty teenage soap, she didn't know what did. Her Beverly Hills 90210 life, however, had turned into an Anne Rice novel. And one of the worse ones.

Bonnie didn't know what she should do. She was bored out of her mind. In the last two days she had tidied up her room, cleaned the whole house (including dusting, vacuuming, cleaning – even under the couch and behind the closets), and sorted out her clothes. She even rearranged her room twice – with the second time putting the furniture back on its original spot. The exercises she normally loved to forget were repeated a few times more than usual. Her nails were done, her body showered and shaved, her books and magazines read and the grimoires studied until she couldn't concentrate on the small script in those.

Currently, Bonnie was sitting at the edge of her bed, dangling her legs and looking out of the window. As sad as it was, without the supernatural her life was boring. Especially since everyone of her friends was somehow involved in the other world.

Suddenly, the girl heard a knock on the door of the Bennett home. Excited, she jumped off her bed and ran out of her room. Reaching the steps, she realized what she was doing. Was she really that bored that she was excited when someone – most likely the mail or a neighbor – knocked? It seemed so.

Shrugging, she ran down the steps and opened the door.

To her wonderment it wasn't the mailman or one of her neighbors. Instead, Damon was standing there. _What does he want? _The last two days had been the first ones since he was cured when he hadn't bothered her all day. After their talk, he'd been MIA and had given her space. _Ever thought that his absence was why you're bored? When he's there you have something to do – even if it's just insulting him. You banter – that's your thing. _Shut up mind, Damon and I, we don't have 'a thing'. _Oh yes, you do. Elena and Stefan make lovey eyes at each other. Damon and you, you argue and banter._ Shut up!

Returning to reality, Bonnie noticed the look on Damon's face. He seemed … she couldn't classify it … If he were anyone else, she'd say he looked kind of nervous and fidgety. But he was Damon and Damon Salvatore was never nervous or fidgety.

"What's wrong?" Her mind was blank. She didn't know what to think. Was he alright? Somewhere in the back of her mind a fleeting thought reminded her of a similar situation only days ago and a completely different reaction of hers. But Bonnie wasn't able to comprehend anything. As soon as the thought appeared, it disappeared again.

Damon didn't know what to say. He registered the vacant worried look on her face and became even more nervous. Was she worried because he was at her house? Was she worried because she was afraid of him hurting her? Was she worried because she thought he was stalking her? Had she company she didn't want to see a(nother) man at her door? What had her worried?

Why he was freaking out, he had no idea but all Damon could do in Bonnie's presence was … nothing. He was frozen.

Only her worried inquiry made him realize she'd talked to him. Shaking his had, Damon forced himself to return to the present. "What?" _Well done, stupid._

"Is something wrong? Are you alright?" Was that worry he detected in her voice? It couldn't be, could it?

"I'm alright. Everything is fine. Nothing happened and no one died." Both male and female were wondering why he had been the one to bring up those possibilities and she hadn't even thought about them. What was wrong with her?

"Uhm … I have … uhm … something for … uh … you." _Great, I should be forced to return my man-card. What am I doing here? Behaving like a twelve year old boy with a crush on his hot, young teacher. Those Bennett women! _

"Uhm … What? … Uh … Okay … Come on in." _Seems like my little witch is at the same loss as me. _Bonnie's nervousness helped the vampire to regain some of his coolness. At least, he wasn't the only one affected by the other one's presence.

For the first time Damon walked into the Bennett home slowly and with apprehension. For the first time, he didn't act like he owned the place. Something was definitely wrong.

Closing the front door, Bonnie lead the way up to her room. Somehow, it gave her a sense of privacy she didn't get in any other room of the house even though she had the whole building completely to herself most of the time.

There they were again, sitting side by side on the witch's bed (if her father would know, he'd killed them both), both waiting for the other one to start a most possible complicated conversation. Not too long ago, they had done the same thing. This time it was Damon's turn to reveal stuff.

Seeing the uncertainty in the witch's eyes the vampire found some of his missing strength. Shyly, he took Bonnie's hands into his own, gently stroking his thumbs over her skin. _God, what am I doing? I'm even more pathetic than Stefan._ Despite his thoughts, Damon didn't stop. Moving a bit closer to his little witch he looked her in the eyes.

"You know what we talked about the other day." Was this truly his voice? It was so low and raw. It never sounded that way.

Bonnie couldn't take her eyes off him. She couldn't think. She couldn't talk. She could barely breath. Her only answer was a short nod – her eyes never leaving his.

His little witch's nervousness brought back his confidence. He **knew** she couldn't resist his charm.

"I've got something for you."

What was going on? What did he mean? Damon had lost her along the way from knocking on her door and up to her room. She didn't know if she should wait and see what he was talking about or if it would be safer for all people involved (especially her own dignity) just to grace him with one of her famous migraines.

The insecure looking man in front of her door came back to her mind. And though Bonnie was pretty sure it had been an act she couldn't bring herself to harm him.

"What is it?" Okay, so she was curious, sue her.

Suddenly, the vampire was gone. _Where did he go? First, he comes to me, all mysterious and cute – no, not cute, irritating, that's the word – and then he just vanishes?_

In the blink of an eye, Damon returned with the gifts. Before Bonnie could comprehend anything, several packages were displayed all over her bed.

"Damon, what is all this?" Disbelieve coated her voice. She didn't know if she was supposed to be flattered or if a slap upside his head would be the right reaction.

"Open it." The vampire smirked at her hiding his returning nervousness.

The girl was wary. What did Damon deem as an appropriated gift? Some fake dog-poo? A toad? A wand? She really expected the worst when it came to Damon, gifts and her.

Hesitantly, Bonnie opened the first package. It was of mediocre size and rectangular. Carefully, she unwrapped the paper aggravating Damon along the way. Hey, a girl needs to get satisfaction from somewhere.

When the witch opened the box inside the paper, she couldn't believe her eyes. A new pair of shoes were inside. Not just any shoes, Manolo Blahniks! The price was way over anything she would ever spent for herself.

Opening and closing her mouth a few times, Bonnie didn't know what to say. "Damon, this is … they are … wow. Huh, uhm … they're great but I can't accept them. It's too much." It hurt saying that.

"Don't even start. They're a gift and it's impolite to decline something given to you. And wait until you've seen the rest. And they're not just any shoes. They had your name all over them." At Bonnie's critical stare, he elaborated. "They're called BB. See, you've got your own shoes." He wasn't able to hide the smug look on his face. Honestly, he didn't even try to hide it.

"Damon, you don't need to do this. Any of this. And I'm not some of those bimbos you usually sleep with. A few nice – really nice – gifts won't get me in bed with you."

The vampire would be offended if he didn't know that the witch was right. Usually, a nice gift would be all he had to do to win someone over – it was a change to the ever-present compulsion.

"You honestly think I'd do that for anyone? For some bimbo like you called them? I even **bought** that stuff. I'm not trying to get you to sleep with me. That's not what I'm trying to do. Though, if you want to show me how thankful you are, I sure as hell won't stop you." He **was** Damon Salvatore after all. And there was no man out there who would say no to a nice thank you from the woman he wanted.

Bonnie couldn't help herself and laughed. _Damn it girl! A few weeks ago you'd have given him a murderous aneurism for such a comment and now you find it amusing? Get a grip! _But the look on his face and the smirk on his lips were too much for her to resist. "Thank you Damon. Though they are too much. I don't even have an occasion to wear them. But thanks nonetheless."

Damon rolled his eyes. Typical, his little witch needed to be stubborn and remain it. "Ya, ya, just open the next one", he said while indicating to a package that looked like an overpriced dress bag.

With a smirk of her own Bonnie slowly went to work on the paper of her next present. God, how she loved it to irritate him. It was just too easy.

Upon seeing the emblem on the bag, her mouth gaped open. She'd never seen something quite like that – she just knew from movies what lay inside those bags. The big letters on the top of it gave it away, too.

Gently, Bonnie opened the top. There in front of her was a mid-thigh black lace, ruffled Valentino dress. "Damon … that's … that's … It's gorgeous but ..."

"Don't. We did have the same conversation a few minutes ago, remember?" Using all his charm, he intentionally stared into Bonnie's eyes holding her gaze until the poor hormonal teenage girl couldn't do anything but nod weekly.

He still had it.

"Okay, thank you. It's gorgeous. … And so not you." The witch admitted. At Damon's quirked eyebrow – _omg, omg! I'm turning into a puddle … Stop it girl! You sound like Caroline! –,_ Bonnie elaborated. "This dress is decent. The cleavage isn't anywhere near the navel, the back doesn't reveal one's butt and it's long enough so you don't see my crotch exposed." Oh, the witch knew he had a better taste than that, you just had to look at his clothes – or his car for that matter – and you knew it. However, it was fun watching his expressions change rapidly.

Flabbergasted, Damon tried to defend himself but nothing came out of his mouth. To his chagrin it was his turn to gape like a fish out of water. Seeing his expression, the witch laughed out loud.

"That was soo worth it."

"Will you shut up? I just wanted to make you laugh. And you thought you hated me … I told you no woman or girl can resist me."

Bonnie refused to respond to that and just rolled her eyes. They were back in their game.

"You've still got one thing to open. And so you know, my offer still stands if you want to show me how grateful you are." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Now, the witch wished she hadn't been confused about nervous, kind Damon. He was way more bearable than this perverted version in front of her.

With shaking hands, Bonnie went to open her last gift. Inside was a small jewelry box. Chancing a glance at Damon, she saw the barely hidden anticipation in his eyes. _Please, don't let him have crossed the lines … please._ Bit frightened, the girl lifted the top.

This was the first gift which wasn't too over the top. Inside was the silver chain bracelet of Thomas Sabo complete with a few charms. Looking at the charms, the little witch was stunned. Suddenly, she saw the man in front of her in a whole new light.

The moon and sun represented their differences, the flash symbolized their clashing characters and their heated fights, the theater masks not only showed the good and the sad times but also that everyone was hiding themselves, the NO and the YES stood again for their fights and personalities, the black cat and the witch were her heritage as was the feather his. And the clover leaf was her lucky charm. All of the careful selected charms showed he'd really thought about what to get her. It represented not only her and her heritage but the relationship her and Damon had.

The bracelet meant so much more to her than the expensive shoes or the designer dress. It was … she didn't know what to say. He'd stolen her breath with this gift.

"Damon, I … I do not know what to say. Honestly, this … this bracelet is … beautiful. I love it! Thank you." His little witch was glowing at him.

_Damn him. Every time I've think I have him figured out he comes and does something like that. Can't he just stick to one behavior?_

_But would you want him to? Would you want him to be the arrogant asshole you barely can tolerate? Or the insecure whatever-it-was-he-was-outside-your-door-a-few-minutes-prior? Or do you prefer all of his different characteristics? Don't lie to yourself._

"Could you … uhm … could you help me put it on?"

With tender hands Damon reached for the jewelry and gently put it around Bonnie's delicate wrist, stroking her arm while closing the latch.

Reveling in the feeling one last time, Bonnie forced herself out of her trance. "Damon … I … I don't know what to say. The gift … those gift**s** … are beautiful … and I'm overwhelmed how much thought you put into them but …" Before the witch could continue, Damon pressed his fingers against her mouth. "But they're too much. One of the presents alone is way too expensive ..." Bonnie murmured against his fingers.

Feeling the shift in the atmosphere, Bonnie realized her mistake. Talking against Damon's fingers and blowing hot breath over cool skin in such a hot tensioned moment wasn't any way to lessen the sexual tension between two high charged beings.

"We talked about that. That here", the vampire on Bonnie's bed gestured towards the gifts, "that's nothing. I wanted to get you something special. But … I know how stubborn you are and I knew you wouldn't accept anything of too much value. You know, I've wanted to buy you haute couture but I **know you**. So, stop complaining and just say 'thank you'." While talking Damon moved closer to Bonnie so that his lips brushed against hers as he tried to convince her.

"And I've got something else for you too." The mischievous glint in his eyes didn't help any to calm the witch down.

Before Bonnie had a chance to respond the vampire vanished once more. Lost and confused, the teenage witch stood up and moved over to her window. She hadn't reached her destination yet when a breeze told her that her vampire was back – _**not mine, not mine, not mine!**__. _

Opening her eyes the witch saw her companion right in front of her. With a few predatory steps he pushed her against the wall. Adding to the heat in the room Damon leaned in close to Bonnie, his left arm next to her head, his right foot and leg cutting her way out of his embrace off.

"I've got something else for you", Damon whispered, nuzzling her jaw, neck and collarbone. The glint in his eyes was back – tenfold. A smug smirk was grazing his face as he was leering at the little witch captured within the confines of his body.

From behind his back Damon showed his little witch a shopping bag. Looking from the bag in his hand up into his eyes she saw joyfulness and mischief in the blue orbs of his.

Bonnie couldn't contain her laughter. This gift was just so … so Damon. In his hand he was holding a light pink bag with the famous black bow and elegant italic letters of Agent Provocateur on it. Curious and afraid at the same time Bonnie reached for the garments.

As suddenly as he'd had her caged he gave her space. This was going to be good.

Feeling cold without Damon's close proximity Bonnie made her way back to her bed. Hesitantly, she grabbed into the bag and took the first garment out. That was so Damon. It really was. How could she ever have thought he was nice and somewhat sweet? A black lace corset with a nude tulle lining was meeting her gaze. The cups made wearing an additional bra unnecessary and the lacing up at the back made it a tight fit holding everything in its intended place.

Shaking her head the witch chanced a glance at the other things. In there were a low sitting lace brief with a some design on it, black oversized ribbon slot trims and soft baby pink tulle lining as well as black silk stockings. A gift like that – it all screamed Damon.

"You know that you'll never see me in that, don't you?", Bonnie questioned the vampire with a raised eyebrow.

"Yap, yap, yap. **You** know I'm Damon Salvatore, don't you?", he asked her patronizing. Crowding her space again he murmured "And I **always** get what I want."

Before Bonnie had any chance to react – _oh god! Who would have thought such arrogant, __conceited__ words could sound so seductive? _– Damon closed the last inches between them and met her lipsin a feverish kiss.

As suddenly as it started, the kiss ended. Without any time for Bonnie to react the vampire disappeared out of the witch's home leaving the girl standing in her room all alone.

* * *

**A/N:** I have no clue how often I changed the dress. I probably had everyone of the most famous designers mentioned at least once... But I saw that dress and I found it to be a nice combination of Bonnie and KatGraham. However, I made the dress a bit more moderate for Bonnie. The one on Megan Fox was a bit too short for Bonnie's character.

Honestly, I'd never thought it to be this difficult to find the right dress for a person – even if the person doesn't look anything like you. That's what I get for assuming ...


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thanks to ZOEYSEES, RayenMacawi, jazz, Yson, Crystal1998, Reighn Venhem 33704, Vie, Cici G for reviewing and thank you so, so much to everyone who added my story or me to their following list or even to their favorites. I can't say how much your support means to me.

This chapter is an interlude but the original chapter got longer and longer and I decided to divide it. The next chapter (or second part of it) will be up pretty soon (at least faster than the last two chapters).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Vampire Diaries or anything connected to it and neither do I own anything else you might recognize nor the song 'Pretty Girl Rock' – that one is sung by Keri Hilson.

It's time for a little girl talk. Enjoy reading!

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Chapter 7:

All eyes on me when I walk in,  
No question that this girl's a 10  
Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful  
Don't hate me

With a sudden jolt Bonnie was shaken out of her reverie. Her cell phone was ringing somewhere – if she just could remember where she had put it. Searching all over her room she found it on her bedside table. Hurrying she went to answer it knowing that if she didn't answer her phone the first time called Caroline would first ring her again and again and then bitch her out for ignoring her.

Been there, done that. The half an hour reprimanding tirade wasn't anything Bonnie wanted to repeat. Once was enough.

"So, how are you and daddy?", the blonde on the other end of the line asked.

"What? Who?" What was Caroline talking about?

"You and daddy. Honestly, who do you think I'm talking about? I'm something like the love child of your relationship." Great dread spread through Bonnie. _Please, don't let her talk about who I think she's talking about._

"You and Damon of course. Bonnie, where do you live? It's obvious. You cared for me and asked him to protect me, to save me and he was 'the man of the house' and did his duty of protecting his family. See what I mean?" During her whole explanation Caroline kept her happy tone.

Bonnie, however, felt like shit. It had been so easy to blame Damon for Caroline's transformation but to admit that she herself had a great part in it as well was a whole other story.

"Caroline, I'm so sorry. I didn't want any of that to happen. But I couldn't save my Grams with my magic back then, and I couldn't risk losing you too. And Stefan had saved me even though I was as good as dead and Damon offered. And you know how Elena is, she ponders about anything until it's too late. I … I couldn't lose you. So, I told him to do it. It was my fault in the first place, that you were laying there. If I had deactivated that device like everyone wanted me to do, the crash would never have happened and you wouldn't have been in the hospital. I … I … I had to do something ... I had to right the wrong. I'm so sorry. I never wanted any of that to happen, Caroline." Bonnie sobbed.

She felt sick. Her bad conscience was a burden to her since last year. If she hadn't been so stubborn, nothing of that would have ever happened. Her best friend wouldn't have had to endure any of the crap she had been through, no torture, no nothing, she still could be happily oblivious to what was going on behind the curtain.

"Hey, hey. Bonnie, stop it. I didn't mean it like that. I've never blamed you – at no time. Sure, it would have been nice to do without the blood thirst and to have a family of my own someday but **you**, Bonnie Bennett,** saved my life**. You did what was necessary and cooperated with the one person you couldn't stand, to make sure I was save. You even relied on him – and all for me. I could never be angry about that. This way, I get to be with all of you and isn't it way easier to be my friend when I know what's happening than to think of excuses all the time?"

In all of her confusion right after her transformation, Caroline had never thought of Bonnie being the reason she was a monster. And after the first shock was overcome she'd never thought of herself as a monster, either. Not in that mean, ugly kind of way. She had great friends who stuck to her through it all – even if it took some getting used to.

"I'm sorry, Caroline. For all of it." Slowly, Bonnie got a hold of herself. What was done, was done and all she could do now, was to apologize to Caroline over and over again and to be her a good friend – especially since she did such a poor job of it in the beginning.

"Bonnie, I'm over it. You'd prefer me dead?" After a significant pause the vampire continued. "That's what I thought. And just for the record: me neither. So, on to happier stuff. How are you, mommy and daddy?" Oh, the witch on the other end of the line could not only hear the mischief in Caroline's voice but picture it all over the blonde's face.

"There is no Damon and me. There's Damon and then there is me. You know how it is. I don't feel anything for that psychotic vampire but loathing. And even if I did, there **is** a Damon and Elena. No matter if anyone will admit it or not. So stop your matchmaking where it isn't needed nor wanted!" The last sentence came out harsher than Bonnie had intended.

Without obvious reason did that thought irritate the witch. It bothered her somehow, but Bonnie wasn't sure what it was.

Her friend wasn't as clueless as Bonnie. Giddily, she detected the rejection in the witch's voice. Seemed like it was all falling into place. No longer a threesome of Stefan/Elena/Damon, no longer any Damon/Elena, no longer fights between the brothers over some girl. With time it got really tiresome to observe the same happenings over and over again. No longer loneliness for Damon, no longer loneliness for Bonnie. And no longer some half-assed relationships for both.

It was time to start a new chapter.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Why do you ask that question? Did you know? Did you know what he was doing? And you didn't say a thing?" Bonnie was flabbergasted. Her best friend let her run into such a surprise without any notice or warning? Who's friend was she?

"He came to me this morning and asked me to come with him. He was all cryptic and shit but somehow I got more out of him. He even apologized to me! Can you believe that? Damon Salvatore apologized to me for what he did when he came first back into town. Admitted, it took some insults on his part and tears on my part but he did it. And you know he doesn't ever apologize or thank anyone."

"He did. A few times actually", the little witch told her friend sheepishly.

That was news to Caroline. "Damon Salvatore apologized to you and thanked you? Honestly? And you've never told me? And you still believe you can't stand each other. Was he serious about it? Or was it just like with Elena. His 'I'm sorry, okay? What do you want me to do? I'm not him' gibberish?"

"It was honest. At least he sounded that way", answered Bonnie in a small voice.

"And you still believe there is no you and Damon? Honestly? How can you be that blind?!"

"Caroline." The witch was aggravated and the furniture in her room started to vibrate.

"No, Bonnie. If you want to refuse yourself something which we all know you're in dire need of, be that way. That's not why I called. What did Daddy get you and how did you react?"

And just like that the vampire and the witch were just two ordinary teenagers with ordinary teenage drama (if you ignored that 'that one hot guy' bought her not flowers or movie tickets but designer shoes and cloths).

"No, he didn't!" Bonnie just had told Caroline about his last gift.

Though, her friend couldn't see her, Bonnie nodded. "Mhh, he did. You should see it. All lace and stuff. I could easily perform in Mouline Rouge with it. I'm not kidding. I just don't know when or where to wear it."

"Oh, I think you could always ask Damon for advice. He probably has some good ideas."

Gaping, the witch couldn't believe her ears. Did Caroline really say that? Caroline of all people? "Caroline! Stop that! You of all people should tell me to stay away from him. You of all people have the **right** to tell me that! Opposed to other someones who like to pretend ...", Bonnie mumbled the last part.

Even though quite some time had passed and Damon was healed, Bonnie still wasn't over the way Elena had treated her while Bonnie was doing everything possible to find a cure for the bitten vampire – no matter how forlorn the situation had been. That her supposed to be best friend was just sitting at the bedside of her boyfriend's brother – a little too close if you asked Bonnie –, spending comfort, while she was doing all the work to save the day – again – just to be disregarded, insulted and yelled at by her friend since kindergarten cut the witch deep. That her "sister" didn't trust her, had left its marks on the Bennett girl.

"But you **need **something good in your life"

Before the blonde ended her sentence, Bonnie interrupted her. "And you think Damon is 'something good'? Are you out of your freaking mind?"

"Stop being so dramatic. That's my style or Elena's. You're the sensible one, remember? And you damn well know I didn't mean it like that. He isn't all good. But you have to admit, he isn't all bad either. We all know you're long since over your hate for him. And no one can stand him all the time. It's common knowledge. He is Damon Salvatore after all and if his name as its own definition isn't enough to explain the magnitude of his antics I don't know what is."

"But ..."

"Not buts, Bonnie. You know I love you and I just want what's best for you. Ya, ya, don't try to interrupt me. I know how he is and nevertheless, I think he would be good for you. I mean you could also go to a bar and pick up a random guy but that's not you. I know you're 'the lone fighter', you don't need anyone but Bonnie, sometimes it's nice to have someone to rely on. And I'm not talking about someone like Jeremy. He's a nice kid – when he's out of his emo-phase that is – but he's just that: a kid. He doesn't know what to do with a powerful woman, with a witch, with you. It's a school boy crush and not a strong relationship – and I'm not even talking about a romantic relationship. Bonnie, I love you that's why I say what I say, you need to let go from time to time. And if it's with a person you have a lot of passion with, then go for it. And you and Damon have a lot of chemistry. Your fights are full of it. You just need to redirect that passion."

Luckily for Caroline, she didn't need to take a breath anymore otherwise she would have gasped for air after her rant/ pep-talk/ reprimand.

"Caroline! Shut up! You know that's not going to happen. I'm not like that and there is no way in hell Damon and I are like that. Or going to be like that." The witch was determined.

"Why?"

One word, one little word, brought the witch out of concept and had her considering. Yeah, why not? Why not take what's right in front of her? Why not someone who won't be clingy after the deed, someone who couldn't get her pregnant, someone who couldn't infect her? Someone who seemed to care for her? Someone who was supposed to be her soul mate?

Someone she had feelings for.

_What?! No. No, no, no, no! Maybe acquiescence like for a grumpy little niece or nephew you put up with because they were family; but not those feelings. It's just Caroline and her talking. I don't have feelings for this, this … **vampire** … No, absolutely not. I don't want him to kiss me with his luscious lips, and I don't like it when he corners me and I feel his muscles close to my body. And I especially can't stand it when he stares at me with those intimidating eyes of his. No, I can't stand it at all._

Damn it. Even to herself her arguments sounded forced and so not convincing. But if he wasn't hot, she didn't know what was. Why was it always that the hot ones were assholes? All of them. Sure, there were different layers to the most of them but was it worth to break the first irritating layer and the other thousands of it following to get to know the real one? To see the different side to him? Question wasn't if it was worth it but more if she could bear his irritating, show-off side long enough to see what else was there.

What if the core of his character was her 'True Love' but he hid himself behind so many layers that she never would meet him?

"Caroline, you know it isn't that easy." Shit! That small confession was a big mistake. "And even if what you say was true – and I'm still thinking here you out of all people should veto that – there is still Elena. You know how it is. It doesn't matter if feelings are included or not – I refuse to have a fling or a fb-relationship with a guy who is not only stuck on one special girl but on one of my best friends. I won't do that.

And I sure as hell won't get mixed up in all their drama. Could you imagine that? You, you're on my side. Done. Then, I would have to tolerate Damon. When that's done, I had to convince Stefan that Damon didn't find a way to compel me and that his brother wasn't blackmailing me or that I did a spell wrong. After that, it be Elena's turn.

She would be all self-righteous claiming she only wanted to protect me and that I couldn't trust Damon, and he was just using me to make her jealous. And after that, she had her brother privy to it all and then, Jeremy would come back and trying to make my life hell and 'make me see reason'. And when we would have passed that, there'd still be my father. And probably those witches. My ancestors aren't to keen on vampires. You see, a short time of fun isn't worth all that trouble. And it would be anything but 'no strings attached'."

Bonnie couldn't help herself, she had to laugh at her thoughts. It would be so much more than just fun.

"Someone seems to have thought thoroughly about it." The blonde grinned.

The witch couldn't believe her friend. "Caroline, did you listen to me at all?"

"Yeah, I did. You thought about how it'd be if you and Damon would hook up. Or became a couple 'cause if you would just fool around no one else would need to know. You just have to justify yourselves when it's serious."

"Caroline"

"Hey, I'm just saying. But I have to go. I'm meeting with Tyler. See you soon, love you."

"Love you too." But the line was already that.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thanks again to all your lovely reviews. They mean so much to me. And a big thank you to everyone who follows my story or me and everyone who added my story or me to their favorites.

**Vie:** I thought I should address you personally. Thank you so, so much for all your reviews and for continuing to review and reading. I love to hear your opinion of each chapter and what you wish to see happening. Your reviews make me laugh – honestly, I love the way you put your opinion. Thanks for your encouraging words.

This chapter is the second part of the last one. Special thanks to **Reighn Venhem 33704** because she reminded me that there are more characters in Mystic Falls than just Damon and Bonnie (I tend to forget that while writing) and told me it'd be nice to hear Stefan's opinion to all of that. So, Reighn Venhem, I hope you're not disappointed with this chapter – though I don't think that this is the last we're going to hear from Stefan.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Vampire Diaries or anything connected to it.

Enjoy reading.

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Chapter 8:

Damon was once again sitting in front of the fireplace in the den a glass of scotch in his hand. Weird, that although they were vampires and it was the middle of summer there always seemed to be a fire going. He'd always known his brother was strange.

The first half an hour, Damon had been euphoric – partially because he was still horny after his short make out session with his little witch and part of – and he hated to admit it – the fact of giving Bonnie the gifts and her happiness receiving them. God, he'd turned into some ass-head boyscout.

However, that hadn't last long. It was obvious Bonnie wanted him – not only was it in her eyes when they were talking but he could **smell** her. If she just knew how much self-control was needed to resist the urge to throw her on the closest surface and rip her clothes off, every time he got a whiff of her want, she wouldn't think him a perv. He'd be her hero for resisting as long as he did.

But no, his little witch needed to be all judgey.

Never giving credit were credit was due.

At least, now he good enjoy his alcohol once more. The stress of winning Bonnie was lessened at the moment. He had just staked his claim once more. What Bonnie didn't realize was that with every time he cornered her or touched her body, she took on his scent. Even though human males couldn't notice his smell just by touch (those ignorant jerks needed his cologne or his shirt on Bonnie to realize his scent on her) supernatural creatures would be able to. And if they knew what's good for them wouldn't come too close to her.

_Ya, she would so kill me for that._

But now, he was worrying about the gifts again. Did she like them? Did he go overboard? Wasn't it enough? Did he buy crap? Why did he listen to Caroline? Why didn't he listen to Caroline when she tried to talk him into way more expensive stuff? Why did he need to know it better than one of Bonnie's longest friends? Why …

"How are you?" A somber voice suddenly asked.

Damon had been so deep in his thoughts he hadn't heard his brother enter the house. Ever since the worrying about his life had stopped, the thread for Elena had been diminished for the moment and Jenna had lost her life, Stefan was spending even more time with his girlfriend than before. Stefan just came home to take a stash of clothes or to check upon his brother. He still wasn't convinced his brother was well.

"I don't know. Somehow, almost losing my life changed something in me. My former life seems so meaningless and I feel bad for the things I've done. And I decided to stop drinking human blood and go with your diet …", Damon sighed.

"Honestly Stefan, why do you think I'd open up to you now? What's wrong with you? You can't be that naïve. Uh … who do you think I am? You? All saint and shit?" Standing up, Damon turned to his brother. "I'm alive, I'm well and I'm going to live until someone else is going to be pissed off by me and Bonnie decides not to save me that time. All those jealous f*ckers trying to feel better by killing someone superior to them. Leave me alone, Stefan!"

With those departing words Damon passed Stefan and stomped up the stairs to his room.

Perplexed, Stefan looked after his brother. What was wrong with him? After becoming a vampire and overcoming the first wave of despair, Damon had always been cranky. Returning to Mystic Falls, however, had seemed to have changed him. He had his moments. Sometimes he acted or said something like when he'd been human – when they still had been brothers.

And after surviving the werewolf bite, he seemed even more like the long-lost brother. Sure, he was a bit more sulking but that was Damon; mood swings like a teenage girl. But he was thriven by emotions – no matter if it was hate, disgust, fury, care or love. He was passionate about everything he did – not always to his best or well-being.

But the last few days he'd become more sullen, more brooding – nothing like himself. First, Stefan thought it wise to let his brother have his space. The last few weeks had been a lot to take in and cope with. However, Elena was save and though she still was his girlfriend (thank god for that), she was alive and Damon should be happy about that.

Although ever since his cure Damon hadn't been following Elena anymore. He was gone the whole day or he was sitting in his chair pondering about what-the-hell-he-was-pondering-about.

But the last days he seemed to be more aggravated than usual and Stefan had a nagging feeling it hadn't to do anything with his own girlfriend (he couldn't help himself but to reassure himself that Elena, indeed, still was his girlfriend – no matter what some glances said) but with a certain witch who might be (_no, not might, __**is**__, _Stefan reassured himself. The other possibility was too hard to face) his brother's true love.

Stefan didn't know what he should think of that whole revelation. A small voice inside his head was still there nagging that it could have been Elena and not Bonnie – but with all the evidence (his brother believing in it was good enough for him) he suppressed that voice.

At first he'd been elated because it meant his brother would live. In those last moments of his brother's life Stefan hadn't cared about anything else; he hadn't cares about who his true love was, he hadn't cared that it had been a high possibility that it was Elena. Hell, he even would have given his life or worse – especially for someone with eternity waiting for him – his freedom for his **brother**.

After all they'd been through, that's what they were: brothers for all eternity.

Ehh, perhaps Damon was right and he was sappy. Whatever.

Then, he had been glad his brother was save once more. And as it seemed his brother had his own girl waiting for him. After all those years, Stefan could take a deep breath again. There wouldn't be anymore fights over a girl.

His girlfriend was his. He could start to really plan a future with Elena without any doubts in the back of his mind (What if she chose to give into his brother?).

And without the biggest hindrance between them they could work on their brotherly bond. Maybe things would be like they were before.

Hope was a strong emotion.

So, he was utterly exhilarated that Bonnie was Damon's true love.

But when the first wave of relief had passed, Stefan hadn't known what he should feel. Sure, he was still glad that the ever-present competition with his brother over the same girl (Elena may forgive him) for almost 150 years was done with. However, he knew his brother and he wasn't easy to bear most of the time. And he knew the relationship Damon had with Bonnie. They only worked out together when there was no way out and they had to rely on the presence of the other.

If the witch became the new obsession of his brother, Stefan didn't know how long it was until Bonnie set him on fire once more.

It wasn't just his brother's well being he was concerned about. Damon was nothing if not intense and if he wanted something he pursuit it until he got it. Elena had had him to turn to and she loved getting attention and nonetheless, it got too much to handle sometimes.

Bonnie was a whole other matter. She didn't like to get that much attention, she was happy with being appreciated by her friends and being noticed from time to time. Where Caroline and Elena had been in the center of their cheerleading squad, Bonnie hadn't pushed to get in the middle. Just being a part of their circle was enough.

How she would handle Damon's affection over a long time, Stefan wasn't too sure.

On the other hand if someone was able to defy his brother, it was Bonnie. She didn't back down and to all of their wonderment, he let her get away with it. Nothing more serious than an insult here and a threat there, which wasn't much for someone who easily lost his temper and acted on instinct – he'd killed people for less.

Stefan sighed. Why was life always that complicated? Why was his brother always this complicated? Those good old days when neither he nor Damon had to fight for their own lives and the lives of those closest to them. Unfortunately, they rarely had had one of those days and then the war had begun with all of its dire aftermath and Katherine had come into town.

Life never had been easy – especially not for his brother.

God knew he needed some happiness. Perhaps it was with Bonnie. Who was he to stand in the way of that?

But Bonnie was a sweet girl, nice, trustworthy, loyal, someone with a good heart; he couldn't excuse to let his brother loose on her.

Stefan didn't know what he was feeling. What he was supposed to be feeling in such a situation. Should he warn his brother off? _As if Damon ever listened to you. _Should he warn Bonnie? _The girl knows how to defend herself against Damon. What else is she supposed to do? Protecting spells so he can't get into a 500 meter radius of her? A magic restraining order?_

Knowing his brother, he'd find a way to get close to her, nonetheless. He wasn't easily distracted when he set his heart to something. You just had to look at his choice of friends. Who in his right mind would come to the conclusion to befriend the husband of the woman he killed? A vampire hunter who knew about his doing no less? Only his brother.

Shaking his head, Stefan stared after Damon's retreating form long after he was gone. All the younger brother could do was to keep an eye on Damon and to watch out for Bonnie.

For now, that was the only way he could keep her safe and his brother in a good mood.

When had his own life turned into such a bore?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** First of all, I'm sorry for taking so long but I was out and enjoying the hot temperature and the sun.

Thanks to all of those who reviewed and/ or added the story or me to their alerts or favorites. I can't say how much that means to me. And again, **Vie**, thank you so much for all your support.

Insert: Currently, I'm working on a Bamon-One-shot. I began writing it sometime last summer and I'm trying to fix and finish it. Here is my dilemma. There is a kind of longer flashback in the story but I have no idea how to write that tense wise. The story is in simple past because I hate to write in presence. So, the flashback is supposed to be in Past Perfect, if I'm not mistaken. But it just sounds strange to write so much in that tense. I tried to separate it from the story but that doesn't work for the atmosphere/ flow of the story.

If anyone can help me with that or has any suggestions, please pm me. I'd appreciate it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Diaries or anything connected to it nor anything else you recognize. Neither do I own Blade (that'd be nice though) nor 'Tanz der Vampire'. Any resemblances to persons or enterprises are coincidentally.

For the record: I don't approve a lot of things mentioned in this chapter. So don't try this at home! (My own 'Jackass' warning! :D )

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 9:

Bonnie was chewing on her lower lip. Caroline had decided they needed a girls' night out. Just Bonnie, Elena and herself.

It sounded so easy. Were where the days when all they had to fear was the fury of their parents? Being a vampire Mrs. Forbes didn't really care anymore what Caroline was doing, with her parents and Jenna gone Alaric was out of his depth playing guard for two teenagers, as long as they were alive, had something to eat and did they're usual duties, he didn't get involved. And Bonnie. They only one who'd ever cared if she was out late had been her grams.

The obstacles were gone.

But suddenly the fear of house arrest didn't seem as important anymore. Suddenly, the threat of death was real. It became obvious the last few days, that not only Klaus couldn't be trusted. It was quite possible the threat came out of their own rows.

Least to say, Bonnie wasn't as excited about their girls' night out as she used to be.

What she didn't do for her friends.

Somewhere deep in her mind she still hoped everything would be alright and nothing would happen. And honestly, after the stress of the last few weeks she really needed to let go off some steam.

Bonnie couldn't believe she jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.

Now that the immediate threat of Klaus wasn't immediate – the hell knew what he was doing at the moment –, the witch had thought it'd be time to take a step back, to enjoy theirselves as long as possible.

To top it all off, they had summer break – their last one. Just a few months and they'd be graduating. It called for a celebration – even though no one felt like it.

Once again, Bonnie was shaken out of her reverie by someone knocking on the front door. This time, however, Bonnie knew who it was. Caroline wanted them all to meet up and get ready together. One should think after their past year, the blonde was out of her illusions of the real life being similar to a teenage movie – but no, the young vampire clung more than ever to such things.

It seemed to be Caroline's way of keeping part of her old life alive and who was Bonnie to deny her friend such an important task when all the witch herself wanted to do was to keep those days alive.

As predicted, Caroline stood in front of Bonnie's house, a huge smile adorning her face, cloth bags over her arm, a make-up suit in one hand and two bottles of champagne in the other one. Sometimes being a vampire had its perks. Though it never had been a problem for them to get some alcohol – Bonnie remembered those parties in the woods clearly -, no matter what their parents wanted to think.

"Hey, Care, come in." Bonnie tried to be enthusiastic. Caroline's look, however, showed her she wasn't that convincing yet. The night was long.

While Caroline went up the stairs to Bonnie's room, the witch went into the kitchen and the storage room and brought a lot of snacks (Who'd thought vampires ate that much? Weren't they supposed to just drink blood and not to be able to stomach food?) and bowls to put them in.

The witch was about to unload the snacks on the desk in her room when the bell rang. _Good to know. Vampires just knock on the door, humans use the bell. _Was it because there weren't bells back when those vampires first lived? But what was it with Caroline then? Or was it the noise of the bell. _Probably the later, but it would be so much fun to aggravate Damon with that._

It was weird that a man in his 60ies (one hundred and sixties!) hung out with teenagers. Okay, teenagers and Rick. In every other situation, the media had had his skin. But being caught for all eternity being 22 (at least he was old enough to do anything without a lot of fuss) ensured the hormones of a college guy for all eternity as well. Suddenly, his behavior was a lot more understandable.

Opening the front door, another bright smile greeted Bonnie. Elena had her own clothes bags in her hand. "Hey Bonnie." With a huge hug Elena greeted her. "Is Caroline already here?"

"Ya. She came just a few minutes earlier. Come in, the snacks and drinks are all set up."

Happily talking, Elena did everything to relive their past 'girls' night out's. And even though the voice in the back of her mind reminded the witch about her last encounter with Elena, she blocked that voice. It wasn't worth to lose a life-long friendship over a few words said in distress.

Loud squealing accompanied the welcome hugs of the girls. All three of them knew how fake they were (honestly, who did squeal all the time when they'd seen each other a few hours before?!) but precisely that was the charm of the whole thing. Pretend.

Pretend to be normal. Pretend to be independent. Pretend to live a perfect life like in the movies. Pretend to be always happy. Pretend there is nothing bad going on. Pretend the world is a perfect place.

Pretend.

Looking at each other, the teenage girls weren't able to fight their laughter.

"Okay girls. It's good to see you all. It was about time." Caroline was the first to speak. "Yeah, but that was a tad bit too overjoyed." Bonnie giggled. Caroline and Elena soon joined in the witch's laughter.

With a loud 'plop', Bonnie opened the bottle of champagne while Caroline held three glasses at the ready. Elena hurried to fill the bowls with the snacks.

"So, how are you?" Elena asked her girl friends with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm good, we're all alive and we're having our long missed girls' time. So, I'm more than good." Bonnie tried to play dumb. There was no way in hell, she would tell Elena about her mixed feelings about Damon or his gifts for her. Or their shared kisses.

If she wanted to ruin their blissful night, that'd be the way.

Exasperate, Elena fixed Bonnie with a glare. "You know that's not what I meant." After a short moment, however, her gaze softened. "I'm sorry because of Jeremy. But if you want to talk about it you can. Though he's my brother, you are my sister and he was in the wrong to break up with you because you helped someone to survive. Honestly, I think there is a huge possibility that he'll come to his right mind and will ask for your forgiveness. You just have to believe."

Caroline glanced at Bonnie. The witch's features told her everything she needed to know. "Ya, that is that. Me and Tyler, we're great. Who'd ever thought that I, the undecided cheerleader and the man-whore Casanova would be in a solid relationship? He even talked about the future. Ever since the werewolf curse broke out, he's a changed person." Caroline gushed.

Even though Elena shot her an aggravated glare – _does she really need to force herself in the center of attention every time? Didn't she see I was trying to comfort Bonnie? Or does she just not care? Caroline is hurting because of their break up. It's obvious. You can plainly see the mixed emotions on her face. –_ Bonnie was thankful for the vampire's intervention and knew her friend just did that to re-direct the attention.

After a few hours of girl talk – admitted, most people would call it gossip – and styling themselves, the girls were ready to go. There wasn't any need anymore to bribe a doorman or trick their way into a club, they had their own vampire with them. Sometimes compulsion did come in handy.

There was also another advantage being a vampire: their alcohol tolerance was a lot higher than with a common human. Their designed driver was set in stone without anyone sticking strictly to coke.

Driving an hour north out of town they reached '1_N_ight'. The club had opened half a year ago but with Katherine and then Klaus threatening all their lives their hadn't been any time to check out it out.

Walking together to the line in front of the club, Bonnie kind of felt like one of Charlie's Angels: three confident girls strutting along the parking lot in sexy outfits (more or less at least).

Why they needed every. single. time. a few hours and several outfit choices to get ready, Bonnie didn't know. Honestly, they're choices were always similar – just a different model of it. Caroline in a mini-skirt and some glittery top, Elena in a short dress and Bonnie in her beloved skinny jeans. It was more a ritual than anything, Bonnie guessed.

Bewitching the bouncer (or compelling), the girls could walk right into the heat of '1_N_ight' and up to the bar. Why was she against compulsion again? At the moment the witch had no clue. Ordering their beverages and convincing the skeptical bartender that they were 21 years (again thanks to Caroline) the girls went to have a look around the place and find somewhere to sit.

'1_N_ight' was in a huge modern building just on the outskirts of the town. With just one dance floor it differed from the other modern clubs. Besides special theme nights the DJ on the floor played everything from Pop and Dance to Hip Hop, R'n'B and some Rap to various kinds of Rock, from the newest tracks to some 90ies and party classics.

Around the dance floor were several seats and couches with tables scattered giving the impression of being cozy and practical at the same time with their closeness array around the floor. To the girl's dismay, all tables were occupied by groups of people.

"Where to now?" Bonnie asked her friends. "Back to the bar?"

"I suppose we could just sit to someone. The seats are big enough." Elena suggested.

"You can't just sit to a group of friends. And Tyler would kill me if I sat myself to some guys. And don't even think about sitting at the bar, Bonnie. That's the place for lonesome losers waiting desperately for any girl to notice them," stated Caroline. "Oh girls, could you wait a moment for me. I see someone I know. I'm back soon." With those departing words, the vampire girl disappeared into the crowd.

From afar the two dark-haired girls saw the blonde head of their friend bobbing up again making its was towards a group of people. Confused, the girls looked at each other, not recognizing anyone of the group. Where did Caroline met those? It was always like this going out with Caroline. On every corner she met someone she knew.

Making her way around the seats, Caroline greeted every single one of the group with a hug and after a short talk to another blonde girl in the group, she they said their good-byes.

Few moments later Caroline returned to her girl friends.

"Oh, no one. I just met them a few years back, when I was at that cheerleading camp over summer."

Neither Bonnie nor Elena were convinced but left it at that. Glancing back around the club, Bonnie saw Caroline's friends leave their table and it suddenly dawned on Bonnie. _Friends my a$$!_

"Caroline! What did I tell you about compulsion?" The witch hissed.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked innocently, biting her lower lip and twirled a straw of her hair. Both signs that she was nervous.

"You damn well know what I'm talking about! It's not like we didn't enough of it to get in here. Do you want to call attention. Who knows who's here and what they'll do." Bonnie reprimanded her friend. "It's wrong," she added as an afterthought. _That should have been one of my first arguments … What's wrong with me? Compulsion – bad. Not convenient._

"I didn't do anything. I went to say 'hey', we talked a bit and then they said they wanted to dance and I told them that I'd need to get you guys. Now let's go there before anyone else can claim the seats." Stubbornly, Caroline stuck to her story, well knowing that it was a ruse.

Heading towards the empty booth, the girls sat down forming a small triangle at the table to make it easier to talk with one another.

"That's a lot better than to stand there like a dumped girlfriend in the middle of the room", Elena remarked and though Bonnie hated to admit it, she was right. Didn't mean she approved of compulsion.

Absentmindedly, she staked in her cocktail with her straw.

Suddenly, Elena's attention wavered from a wild gesticulating Caroline to something on Bonnie's wrist.

"That's a nice bracelet. Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift." Bonnie answered, a small smile on her lips.

"Really? From whom?" The brunette inquired.

"Uhm … uh … a friend." _How am I supposed to answer that question? If she figured out that it's from Damon and I don't how she'll react. I don't want to ruin our normalcy. _Bonnie's mind was racing. _Oh god, please let Caroline be quiet. Please, don't let her say it._

"Ooh … what kind of friend? He must be pretty close ..." Elena coaxed, ready for juicy details of her nice friend's dire needed love life.

Those words brought the other gifts from Damon upfront and Bonnie started to blush. Luckily, Bonnie's complexion and the darkness of the club did a good job of hiding it.

"Is it someone I know?"

"Guess so. At least, we're getting closer. But it's not like that, we're just **friends**. So don't read too much into it 'cause there's nothing." The witch tried to satisfy and placate her curious friend at the same time.

A short glance to Caroline revealed a poorly hidden smirk and a knowing glint in the blonde's eyes.

"So, do we know him?" Caroline dug deeper.

At that moment, the witch despised her best friend. She knew she didn't want to say anything about that to Elena. They had talked about that exact topic two nights ago on the phone. She'd told her that her matchmaking wasn't welcome here but Caroline had to get involved in everything – especially when she could one up Elena.

Old rivalries died hard – more so when heightened vampire emotions came into play.

Fortunately for Caroline, the witch wasn't superman and it needed more for her to lighten someone up than just a menacing glare. Otherwise Caroline would have one more thing together with Damon.

"Uh … I met him when I visited my family." _There, evasive enough. I was with family, I first met him when we were out in the woods partying. They can't accuse me of lying._

"When you met him almost a year ago, why did he sent you a such a gift now?" Elena wanted to know.

"We kept in contact?" Bonnie more asked than told. "I don't know why he did it, honestly. But it's a nice bracelet, so why shouldn't I wear it?" The witch got defensive. "Anyway, weren't we here to forget all that and just live? Let's dance!"

To the girl's great relief her friends for once listened to her and followed her out on the floor and danced the night away.

* * *

Hours later, the three girl were exhausted. Dancing the night away had been a lot easier when all they had to worry about had been high school. Their former lives hadn't made them lose sleep. Mystic Falls 2.0 was a different matter because the things they fought were coming out at night.

When they arrived back in town it was 3 a.m.. Bringing first Elena back home, Caroline drove to the Bennett House.

"So, now that Miss-I-want-both-but-won't-admit-it is gone – tell me. That's that bracelet you told me about. The one Damon gave to you, isn't it?"

She should have know better than to believe that topic was finished for Caroline.

Absentmindedly, Bonnie played with the bracelet and the charms, a small smile settling on her lips. "Yes, it is. With all charms. Ever since he put it on me, I didn't take it off but to shower." The witch answered quietly, her voice barely to hear, a wistful look on her face.

_God, I love her, really, but why does she need to be so damn stubborn! It's plain as day that she likes him – if not love. Girl, wake up!_

Contrary to her friend, Caroline saw right through all their insecurities and worries and knew that both, Bonnie and Damon, weren't able to resist their urges. They belonged together.

When witch and vampire still had hated each other, they're fights had been an outlet for the fiery passion they shared. Ever since they stopped hating each other and started to get along, their fights were less frequently and less heated.

Suddenly, they had to deal with completely different emotions.

When they couldn't get rid of all the tension between them with fighting anymore, how were they supposed to get rid of it?

A smirk plastered on her face thinking about it. If she could get those kids to see it. Or at least to talk!

Bonnie was a bit frightened by Caroline's smirk – even though Damon's was more expressive. _Damn it, girl! Why do you think about __**him**__ anyway?! And why do you compare facial expressions with his?_

"I think you should say thank you to him. I mean, sure you said it before but I know you and when you're taken by surprise by something you don't know how to react. And tell him what you told me just yet."

"Don't, Caroline." Bonnie said exasperate. "Don't start it again. It's late, I'm tired and my feet are hurting so bad. Next time remind to look up some spell against hurting feet. What good does it do to be a witch and still suffer from silly little problems."

"Okay, okay. It was just an idea. Jeez, don't jump down my throat." The blonde gave in. "We're here. Good night, Bonnie."

"Good night, Care. Sleep well."

* * *

Caroline waited until her friend had closed the front door behind her before she drove away.

A feeling in her gut let her stop right behind the next corner and wait. For what, she didn't know.

Few minutes later, she saw Bonnie leave her home and go to her blue Toyota. It was nice being a witch and to be able to change the color of your car as you pleased – one day it had still its original blue, the next you drove a white Prius.

Watching the scene unfold, Caroline couldn't hide her smile as she saw the car leaving in the direction of the Boarding House.

* * *

Bonnie didn't know what she was doing.

But Caroline's endless rambling put her in a funny mood. She didn't know why she did it, though after Caroline's departure she took her car keys from the table next to the door, went to her car, got in and left in the direction of the Boarding House.

Before she could think her acting through, she reached her destination. Should she really go in there? What would it mean? Could she do it? It was just a thank you nothing more? Or was it? What was she doing there?

Determined, Bonnie left her car and walked to the front door of the Boarding House. Without knocking – she just didn't want to disturb Stefan if he was home – the witch entered the old house and made her way straight up to Damon's room.

Standing right in front of his room, she took one deep breath and put her hand on the door knob and twisted. _Oh my god. What if he has company?! _

Too late. The door was open and revealed Damon leaning on his dresser smirking her way.

_Right, vampire senses. _He'd known she was coming, probably even before she turned into their long driveway. At least, he wasn't 'coincidentally' changing right that instant. Or showering. Or something more private.

"Bonnie, what a nice surprise seeing you here." Damon said with a deep and slow voice. A glass of whiskey in one hand, letting the liquid swirl. The other hand was leaning on the dresser.

"Damon." _Just once, I'd like to see him do anything in his life without all those theatrics. God, can't he be more Blade and less ''Tanz der Vampire"? And he thinks he has room to trash talk Twilight. As if he doesn't do creepy, stalkerish crap._

Then again, he did look better than those Twilight freaks. And he was the real deal.

In a flourish, he'd put the alcohol on the dresser and advanced on the girl in his room, slowly circling her.

"To what do I owe that pleasure of you being here in my humble abode?" A slow murmur caressed Bonnie's ear and neck as Damon stood behind her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Bonnie got what was left of her willpower together and stepped away from Damon and his games. That was exactly why she couldn't go there. Not with him.

Damon felt her growing apprehension and stopped preying on her. With a soft sigh he sat down on his comfortable bed, suddenly earnest.

"You know, I came here to thank you again. I wanted to be nice and appreciative because when I'm surprised I don't know how to react. I wanted to tell you that ever since you put that bracelet around my wist I didn't take it off but to shower. I even wore it tonight at our girls' night well knowing it was a high possibility that Caroline and Elena would see it and I would need to explain something I couldn't explain. But I did it anyway 'cause I can't separate from it.

"And now I come here, in the middle of the night just to be treated like all those floozies you go after. I'm not like them. So if you can't treat me with respect, I'm leaving. Good night. I don't even know why I came here." Shaking her head, Bonnie walked to the door.

Before Bonnie was able to take more than a few steps towards the hall, Damon was in front of her and grabbed for her hands.

"I'm … What are you doing here?" Bonnie fought to hide her smile. He was just being yelled at and still couldn't bring himself to apologize out loud. After all the time they knew each other, however, Bonnie knew that his question was meant to start over.

_When did I learn to read him so well?_

"Well, I don't really know." At that Damon rose his eyebrows. _Didn't she mention different things in her complain just now? _

"I … Today was our girls' night out. We – Caroline, Elena and I – used to do that once or twice a month before Elena's parents died and you and Stefan came into town. It was nothing special. Sometimes we went to parties – we even had fake Ids, though I'll never know how they could believe us -, sometimes we went somewhere to drink and talk. Just a coke or a hot chocolate in winter. Or we went to the movies. Stuff like that." Bonnie told him with melancholia.

Where was she going with that? Damon was confused. However, her soft voice, her hands in his which seemed to have interlocked on their own and the fact she was telling him something about herself without being forced to, kept him quiet.

"Today was the first time we did anything close to it, since the night Stefan gathered us to go to Caroline and comfort her after her ordeal with that … ha, once it actually fits … that b*tch Jules."

Damon turned his head away from Bonnie. He didn't want her to see him laughing (at her) but it was just too – _don't go there, Damon. Don't. _- too much to hear righteous Bennett swear like that.

Though the alcohol, which was still in her system, was probably to blame for that. Oh, Bennett could prepare herself for one stern lecture. What did she think she was doing? She could have got herself killed.

"So, we planned to check out that new club. Or not so new, it opened a few months back. We always meet before hand to get ready, to talk. That stuff. Today was the same – besides that we didn't need any fake Ids or flirt or bribe our way into the club. I have to admit, compulsion comes in handy from time to time." A small smile brightened the witch's face.

Damon couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Judgey just say that compulsion can be a good thing? He so needed to remind her of that. Soon, the gentle ministration of her thumbs on his hand distracted him again.

"Anyway, I knew what was planned and I knew more or less what I was going to wear. However it didn't matter. I couldn't bring myself to take it off."

Damon was enraptured on her every move. Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath before she rose her head and looked straight into his eyes.

"Ever since you put it on me, I didn't take it off other then to shower," Bonnie admitted.

Anxiously, she bit her lower lip. How was he going to react? Why did she confessed all that?

She really had said before what he thought he had heard. He couldn't believe it. She truly loved his gift. And it wasn't the most expansive one. She didn't love it because it had cost a lot of money and she didn't love it because she knew now that he could afford such gifts.

She loved the bracelet she'd gotten from **him**!

Before he could think about what he was doing, he brought their still intertwined hands up to Bonnie's face and kissed her with all he had.

Who cared what it meant? Or how she's react? He could deal with the aftermath later. Now, he was going to enjoy it as long as it lasted.

Bonnie didn't know what she was doing. Didn't she told him not to pull a stunt like that again? Then why was she kissing him back with as much fervor? Right now, she didn't care. To hell with the consequences for once in her life. The next morning could deal with them.

* * *

**A/N:** It's me again. The 'Tanz der Vampire' refers to the successful European (German/ Austria) version of the musical. If you don't know it you can picture 'Phantom of the Opera'. The drama and theatrics are more or less the same in those musicals.

The bracelet. A few days ago I watched the episode 'Our Town' (I know, I need to catch up). The bracelet that Tyler gives Caroline is exactly like Bonnie's (probably a different designer but just to give you an idea)

I added links to the pictures of the gifts to my profile, just scroll to the blue script.

Okay, okay, I'm done. I won't harass you any longer. If you have any suggestions for the story what you like to see, tell me. Though, I won't promise anything. :P


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who reviewed, added the story or me to their alerts or even favorites. Thank you guys so much. I'm still baffled.

Vie: Thank you once more for reviewing. I love to read your reviews, your opinion on the chapter and on the characters. They're great. Sometimes I've got the feeling you put more thought into analyzing the chapter than I do writing it ^^

I put links on my profile for Bonnie's gifts for everyone who's interested.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Vampire Diaries or anything that's related to it, neither do I own anything else you might recognize and no money is made out of.

Enjoy reading.

* * *

Chapter 10:

Sunlight was poking straight into her eyes. Why didn't she let the blinds down yesterday? She hadn't been so out of it. She'd felt great and hadn't done anything more than rambling and giggling. Then why were the blinds still up?

Wondering, Bonnie spread herself out in her bed. For the first time since … she couldn't even remember … a long time she'd had a peaceful and restful sleep. Stretching her arms over her head, her left fist bumped against the bedpost.

The girl froze. Her bed didn't have such a high wooden bedpost. Turning her head, Bonnie tried to see what was going on. Upside down she couldn't put it together; seemed like she'd need to stand up. Watchful, the witch rose.

She knew that room. But it wasn't anywhere near her home. Closing her eyes tight, Bonnie cursed lowly. She had hoped that had been a dream; a dream evoked from Caroline's insistence.

No, she'd really gone to the Boarding House – _scratch that, you went into __**Damon's room**__, not the 'Boarding House'_ –, opened up to him and kissed him passionately – for quite some while.

Looking down at herself, she realized something else. She'd slept in some of his clothes! _What am I doing here?_

Damon had coaxed her into a shirt of his and she'd compromised on a shirt and pants. He had another thing coming if he thought she would reveal that much to him after a few kisses. She wasn't just some game to win.

After changing in the corner of his bathroom – _Why am I not surprised that his bathroom is missing a door? Must be great to have no use for a toilet any longer –,_ the tiredness Bonnie had suppressed had made itself known full force. Too tired to fight, Bonnie had let Damon lead her to his bed.

_No! What's wrong with me?! _ Bonnie couldn't believe she caved so easily.

But something else was nagging on her mind. The last few days she'd felt … she didn't know what she felt exactly … but it'd been a weird feeling. She even caught herself a few times rubbing a hand over her heart.

Last night, that feeling vanished. The closer she'd come to the Boarding House, the weaker that feeling had become. Crossing the threshold, it had felt like the last resistance between them had been overcome. All night, that feeling of … emptiness? … had been gone.

There wasn't much room to fight the reality of the whole Kiss thing anymore. Was that feeling one of the symptoms the other witches had warned her of? Was it one of those things that'll happen if they fought their fate? Did he feel it as well?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

What was she supposed to do? She didn't want her life to be predestined by some weird magic because she saved the live of someone similar to a friend. She wanted to choose with who she wanted to spent the rest of her life with because they fit together, they complemented each other, because they **loved **each other. How was she supposed to give in to Damon just because some stupid spell told her so?

If they didn't gave in immediately, what would happen? Would they have pain? Would the magic really cause them pain? What would happen? Would it only affect **her** because he was a vampire? He healed faster than Wolverine but she was still human. Was she making herself go crazy? Perhaps this wasn't because of the magic and perhaps that feeling was just an imagination?

Too many, not enough.

However, staying in Damon's bedroom wouldn't get anything done, Bonnie decided and made her way out of his room and downstairs. Maybe she could find a little snack in the kitchen that Elena had stationed there.

* * *

Damon was in the kitchen preparing once again waffles for Bonnie. Last time they'd placated her, so he figured it couldn't do any harm trying to keep her satisfied with food when she woke up and realized they'd slept in the same bed.

He still couldn't believe last night had happened. (And he couldn't believe he was so skeptical about such little action but it was Bonnie and in **their** relationship it was a huge leap that **she** came to **him** and told him willingly so much about herself.) But she was up there in his bedroom sleeping in his bed.

A 'bling' signaled that the last of the dough was done and Damon hurried to take the waffle out of the waffle iron before it burned. Whipping the cream he heard Bonnie waking up; a small smile adorned his features as he pictured a sleepy Bonnie stretching in his bed and noticing where she was.

Though, he didn't need to be a vampire to hear her coming down the stairs – sleepy Bonnie was clumsy to put it nicely.

Few seconds later, his little witch entered the kitchen. "Good morning," she yawned. "What are you doing? I'd never pictured you as someone who had breakfast in the morning. Real food, anyway", Bonnie continues insecure.

Damon shot her a breathtaking smile. "A racy co-ed was enough for me but then you came along and forbade me my favorite breakfast. And suddenly I was forced on a plastic bag diet."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at him. It would have been kind of funny – Damon's weird kind of funny anyway – if she didn't know that what he said was the truth. A pointed glare followed.

"And you better remember that. Or else I'll have to reinforce the diet." She didn't want to but that didn't mean she wouldn't take care of it if he relapsed into old habits. As the last Bennett witch in Mystic Falls she needed to honor her legacy.

"You do know we eat normal meals?"

Bonnie snorted. Just yesterday she had similar thoughts about eating habits of vampires. "I do know. What do you think I am? – Don't answer that. You know what I meant. I'm just surprised seeing you in the kitchen baking. I thought you more of the 'cup of coffee for breakfast'-type."

_Why do I always start to ramble when I'm around him nowadays? It's Damon, stop acting so weird!_ Thankfully, her complexion was dark enough that she had to blush to an extreme for anyone to see it. Though a glance at Damon revealed that he knew. _As if a vampire couldn't say where the majority of your blood was rushing to. Oh goodness... _She really didn't want to think about what else they knew …

"I'm trying to butter you up since it worked last time", he admitted unabashed.

Shaking her head, the girl wasn't able to hide a small smile. What did she think? That he would be completely different from before? Not likely.

That was his charm.

And when the last year proved anything than that it worked. Even Bonnie herself had to admit she wasn't immune to it. However, the way like some threw themselves at him (_yes, cougar Lockwood, I mean you 'Carol'._), was just disgusting. A self-respecting woman wouldn't do that and Bonnie would be dead before anyone found her acting like that.

All her intentions, though, didn't help her as she was staring into the mesmerizing blue orbs of his. She could lose herself in those eyes.

Her eyes shifted to his lips.

The knowing smirk on his lips, however, brought her back to reality. What was she doing? He used her tiredness against her last night. He got her into his clothes and slept in the same bed as her.

"So you did sleep in the same bed as me," Bonnie stated.

At Damon's fake innocent look she elaborated. "You did something to piss me off otherwise there'd be no need to 'butter me up'."

"It was **my** bed you spent last night in. It wasn't like I was the one to climb into yours," he answered in a joking but at the same time serious manner. He was right after all.

Aaand the old Damon was back. Had she really been wishing for him back when she'd been confronted with the nice, insecure version of him?

There was something seriously wrong with her.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't think I was that tired when I came over." _Uhh... that sounded just wrong._ Damon's eyebrows rose.

"You know what I mean. It was Caroline's fault anyway. She encouraged me. Oh … that … that … if I get ahold of her. She played me. She let it sound like I wouldn't do it, like I'm scared of it. That … that … some kind of friend, is she?!"

Damon could barely hide his smile. So Caroline had meant it when she'd told him she wanted Bonnie and him together. And little Miss Sunshine even played into his cards and pushed her best friend right into his awaiting arms.

Now he probably should get her the earrings she'd gushed about in the mall.

At least she hadn't seen the shops where he'd gotten Bonnie's gifts from. He'd be broke after that. Luckily, he had her running home early – literally.

"Go sit down." Damon gestured to the island in the kitchen.

That was the down side of living in a mansion. Sure, both Damon and Stefan had their own huge rooms, they had several large guest rooms, lots of unused rooms, an impressive library, a nice sized den, a big kitchen and a wine cellar. However, the spacious dining room was too big for just two people. There wasn't any comfort in the coldness of the lone table and all those single chairs around it.

The kitchen island was a lot cozier.

For once, Bonnie did as she was told. After serving the waffles and pouring a cup of coffee for Bonnie, Damon sat down next to her, the corner of the island between them.

Bonnie felt like in a haze. Was this real? Or was she still dreaming?

To her dismay she had to admit that ever since the perfect breakfast Damon had made her, she found herself dreaming regularly about Damon. Over the last few days, the dreams had intensified. She not only dreamed more often about him but the dreams got raunchier and simultaneously more domestic every time. In her dreams they had the perfect relationship.

It was getting harder and harder to separate dream and reality.

With a thankful smile to Damon, the witch dug in to her meal. "Mmm. I know I've said that before but … mmmm … your waffles are really good," Bonnie moaned.

The next few minutes passed in compatible silence while the witch ate and the vampire drank his coffee to restore his body temperature.

Bonnie was eating the last of her breakfast when she got a weird feeling. She didn't know what it was but it was quite uncomfortable and she had to restrain herself from lifting her hand and swatting the air like with an irritating fly.

Looking up, the girl saw Damon watching her intently from behind his coffee mug.

"What?" Bonnie inquired a tad bit aggravated. She didn't like the feeling of Damon's intense eyes on her. It was unsettling to say the least.

"Nothing", answered Damon hiding his smile behind the cup.

"No, honestly. What's wrong? Do I have whipped cream on my face? A coffee mustache over my lips? What is it?" Why did she have to embarrass herself when she was around Damon as off late?

The fight was lost, Damon couldn't hold in his laughter, pissing off Bonnie at the same time.

"It's nothing. Nothing is wrong. Am I not allowed to look at you? Is it all of a sudden a crime? Am I getting arrested? Are you going to handcuff me? If you want to, I have some in my bedroom. Go ahead," smirked Damon.

At his last words, Bonnie flushed once again. Why wasn't he able to have one talk without any inappropriate suggestions? Just one?

Proofing to him that she wasn't as gullible as the floozies who were frequently walking in and out of the Boarding House, Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"You know, that's exactly why I can't take you or your intentions or even that stupid Kiss-thing serious! One minute you're nice and charming and I'm thinking about the possibilities and the next instant you're back being the jerk we all know you are. Suddenly everything you say is nasty or emphasized to sound dirty. You don't care about me or what I have to say or anyone for that matter."

Bonnie was frustrated. She couldn't take his shit any longer – not after their night and before she finished her breakfast. Wiping her hands on a serviette, Bonnie got up. "It doesn't matter. I don't know what I was thinking coming here in the first place. I'm done. I'm out. See you next time I have to save your sorry butt."

Hurt, the witch made her way to the front door of the Boarding House. She didn't know what she was expecting but over the last few days they were getting along pretty well and the previous night was … if nothing else … comfortable, cozy, safe. He even went out of his way and made her breakfast once more.

However, his words weren't charming or seductive or cute. His words showed Bonnie that he didn't care for her feelings. If he wanted to win her over, he shouldn't remind her with how many women he slept with and he shouldn't put her on the same level with them by treating her like those desperate creatures. She despised their behavior and if he really cared for her, he would know that after a whole year knowing each other.

_See, that's what happens when you start trusting people. They turn their back on you. And Damon of all people. Honestly, what was I thinking?_

Damon froze. What had just happened? They were getting along quite well and suddenly she's pissed because of a few teasing words? What the hell?!

The hurt in the witch's eyes brought him back to reality. In a whoosh he was in front of Bonnie preventing her from leaving the house, ignoring any sense of private space again.

Damon needed her to look at him, really look at him. Gentle but firm at the same time, Damon cupped her face in his hands, crowding her space. She was quite a few inches smaller than him, only making her more endearing.

"You know I didn't mean it like that so stop acting like you're PMSing," stated the vampire impatiently.

Bonnie's raised eyebrow and crossed arms made him back-paddle. "Ah damn! That's not what I meant. You know it. You know me ..."

"Do I?" Bonnie asked, attitude still intact.

The question took all the remaining energy out of Damon and he deflated in himself. "You do. Damn it, Bonnie! I'm not good with feelings. I'm not good with words. When I don't know what to say, I make some sarcastic remark or say something suggestive and inappropriate", admitted the vampire, his intense eyes penetrating her own.

Sighing, he looked away before directing his blue orbs back on her. "Every time I'm near you, I can't speak. I don't know what to say. I revert to something familiar. That's why you receive most of my inappropriate suggestions. I **know** you're not some floozy and I don't see you like one of them. Please, believe me Bonnie", Damon pleaded.

It was all so strange. Bonnie couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Did he mean it? He couldn't, could he? He was right, she knew him and the things he did. So why was she as hurt as she was?

She didn't know him any other way than perverted – the first time they met, he was hitting on Caroline and flirting with her. _Must have been quite a wake up call when he realized that his seduction wasn't working with me._

However, Bonnie was tired. They had enough to worry about without his continuous mood swings. She hadn't left the energy anymore to worry about him and if he was going to kill or harm someone because things didn't go his way.

Bonnie **wanted** to believe him. She wanted to believe the words he'd said. Though the doubts were still there. Looking in his eyes, she saw all his feelings; to her, he was like an open book. She saw the anguish, the desperation, the honesty in there and a man on the edge of losing his sanity in front of her. It tore at her heart seeing, watching all those emotions in him, breaking him down, shattering him into tiny little pieces of the person he once used to be.

The next moment her lips were soothing his suffering. Before she knew what she was doing, Bonnie had closed the small gap between them and kissed him with a fiery passion.

Shocked at first, Damon needed a few seconds before he could react but then, there was no holding back. Bonnie's hands were all over his back, touching every inch she could reach while he kept his hands on her face, taking control of the kiss.

After a few minutes, Bonnie ended the kiss. "Damon, we can't. I can't do that", sighed the witch, her breathing still heavy.

Damon looked at her. Was she for real? He knew he should get angry with her. She was the one to initiate the kiss and now she tried to play the 'victim'? But Damon was too shocked to feel anything. He felt numb. Was he really that bad and repulsive that no one wanted him? Not really? Was he that repulsive that no one wanted to spend more time with him? Wanted him for the long run?

Seeing his agony Bonnie cupped his face in one hand while the other stroke through his magnificent black hair. "I don't regret it. But I can't just jump from hating you to being with you, from dislike to making out. It's too much too fast." Bonnie hoped he understood. She wasn't like Caroline or even like Elena who could give their affection so freely and fleetingly at times. She was apprehensive, hesitant.

She was guarded.

If there was someone who understood her, it was Damon. Lust was easy, but feelings were messy. When no one knew what you felt, they couldn't kill you. Sure, they still were able to wound you pretty bad, but you wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing it. Keep to yourself and you wouldn't be vulnerable.

Look what his feelings did for him. First his feelings for his father (which pretty fast taught him never to rely on another person – even if they are blood related), then Katherine (which turned into a disaster nearly as fast as with his father) and Elena (whatever it was that had been there).

Honestly he didn't know why he was as eager to accept the whole 'soul mate' thing as he was. Why was he so agreeable with the whole love thing? Why was he opening up to the little witch?

He just was.

"Please", she pleaded. Her eyes silently asking him to understand it, to understand her.

Taking a few deep breaths, Damon silently agreed. "Okay."

Soon, a wicked smirk returned on his face. "Okay, but I have a few conditions of my own. You're not the only one who can demand things."

The Bennett witch had an uneasy feeling in her gut, nevertheless, she accepted, ready to hear his requests.

"First, we are friends. Officially, no more sneaking around. Second, we're friends until I've convinced you to be more than just friends. Third, I try to keep my 'offending' remarks" – at that Damon rolled his eyes and stared at her, his eyes seemingly coming out of their sockets – "and you try not to insult me with every other sentence you say. And if I don't get any of your blood, you're not allowed to give me any more of your beloved aneurysms. Quid pro quo, Bennett. And we're actually going to hang out with another."

Pondering about Damon's suggestion, Bonnie tried to negotiate. Before she had a chance to make a sound, Damon's thumb and fingers were keeping her lips sealed. "My terms, Judgey. Take it or not. It's up to you. But so you know … if you don't agree, I'm pestering you until you cave – night and day."

Shooting him a glare, Bonnie sighed. "You've got yourself a deal, Salvatore."

She knew she was going to regret it.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** First of all, thanks to everyone who reviewed, is following the story or me or even put one of us to their favorites. Thanks for all your support and your kind words.

And Vie, I love you. It's all I can say. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw your review. Thanks for taking all that time.

So, you know the deal, neither the Vampire Diaries nor the Camaro are mine (my little obsession with that car isn't obvious, is it? ^^), just the plot and even that is influenced by a lot of things I don't own either. Just the mistakes are mine.

Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 11:

The front door of the Bennett home wasn't even closed when Bonnie grabbed for her cell phone, hurriedly dialing Caroline's number. She was freaking out. What did she do? Did she just agree to her definitely doom? Was she insane?

It hadn't been too long when Damon and her were at each other's throats. They'd hated and tried to kill each other and now all of a sudden she agrees to meet up with him? To hang out with him? To be **friends** with him?! What the hell? And after the revelation of the last week how could she say that? It was plainly obvious they couldn't stay in the same place for a few minutes without kissing. How was she supposed to spent several **hours** with him and keep her hands and lips all to herself? How was she going to stick to her resolve and not play into his hands?

But that was the one thing she couldn't do; she couldn't allow. Okay, there wasn't any use to deny the chemistry and passion between them. Even she with all her stubbornness had to admit that. Though it was just physical attraction. **She didn't love him.**

After all he'd been through – hell, he was an 169 year old guy who hadn't had one true girlfriend – she couldn't play along and after the deed was done cast him away. She couldn't do that to him. Not when there weren't any feelings involved on her part.

_Yes, Bonnie. Keep telling yourself that. Because you go around and kiss every single guy you think is hot. _Bonnie hated her inner voice sometimes.

As soon as Bonnie heard that the call was accepted she started talking. "Care, I need you."

Few seconds later, there was a knock on the front door. Caroline.

"What is it? Are you okay? Did something happen? It's Klaus, isn't it? He's back? What do we do? What did happen after I brought you home early this morning?" Caroline asked. In her head, she envisioned many different scenarios all ending with one of them dead.

"It's Damon."

A minute passed while Caroline kept quiet. Still panicked she saw him lying in his bed, dying again. Didn't the spell work? It was supposed to. Then it dawned on Caroline.

_So Bonnie really went to see him last night._

"What did he do this time? Provoked you? Called you names? Did he pull your hair on the playground?"

At that the witch narrowed her eyes but Caroline just smiled. If her friend wanted to play dumb, she couldn't do anything about it. But that didn't mean she couldn't push her in the right direction and make fun of her for her childlike behavior.

Regardless, a few seconds later the witch told her blonde companion everything that had happened since the moment they'd left Elena's. Not skipping anything.

"So, like I see it, you're freaking out over nothing. He wants to be friends – so what? What's the deal about that? I mean you're getting along for some while now. You don't hate each other anymore. Honestly, you two are like the same person in a lot of things and you are a united front against Stefan and Elena and their silly misconceptions.

I mean, if **Damon** decides that he wants to be friends with you, real friends, you shouldn't say no. Don't give me that look, Bonnie. I'm your best friend and not his. And girls should stick together, I know. I'm not saying that because Damon told you so but because you're sick and tired of all your fights. You two know the other one better than anyone else and you know more about your pasts – you both know where to stab to hurt the other the most. You know each other's weaknesses. Your insults aren't harmless banter and pissing-off contests anymore, they are vicious now. You know where to attack. And it leaves you two with open, life-threatening wounds. That's no life! Not for you, not for him. For none of us.

And now, there is a way to start over, to change your dark downward spiral. A chance to get you away from the edge of the abyss. Just try it. I'm not saying 'go marry him' but take the risk and if it doesn't work out, you still can go back. By then Damon will be irritated by the whole thing and you both are happy again. But there, too, is a chance that it'll work out. Girl, you have nothing to lose but everything to win. So stop over thinking his offer and go with it. See where it takes you. It's a good thing."

Caroline was hell-bent to make her friend see what was right in front of her. Maybe she wasn't the best person to preach of everlasting love or an honest relationship full of trust but damn if she wasn't a romantic. And she would turn Bonnie into one too!

Shortly after her revelation, the blonde had to go leaving Bonnie to her thoughts.

* * *

Bonnie couldn't sleep that night. Restless, she turned from one side to the other. Caroline's words had gotten to her. The possibilities and what ifs were haunting her sleep.

Was Caroline right? Were their fights getting out of hand? They did fight more and more with each passing month. And they knew exactly where to hurt. Their fights and arguments had turned vicious.

But that was just him, wasn't it? Sure, she didn't back down or shy away like everyone else but she wasn't slashing him piece for piece. She wasn't him, was she?

Tossing back and forth in her usually comfortable bed, the witch got aggravated. What was that all about? Why was she thinking that much about him? He wasn't even here with her but all she could think of was him... He was so damn irritating. And she just **knew** he'd get a kick out of her current predicament. _Jerk!_

When she was finally falling asleep, the sun sent its first strokes out into the night sky. In short three hours she had to wake up again. Her friends had talked her into going shopping. A girl couldn't have enough bikinis, was Caroline's conviction. Long hours standing in front of mirrors in bright lightened rooms for everyone to see being confronted by the imperfections of your body … Why did she ever agree to that?

* * *

_Rrrrrrrrrr, rrrrrrrrrr!_

A shrilly sound woke Bonnie up. Tiredly, the girl grabbed for her retro-style alarm, eyes still tightly shut.

Her night had been cut short – once again thanks to Damon. It didn't matter what she was doing it all came back to him.

However, there was more to it than just the pondering about their new deal that left her restless that night. The tug at her heart had come back the further she'd driven away from the Boarding House. It didn't to anything to pacify her suspicion.

The Bennett witch understood Damon's apprehension and dislike for witches' more and more with each passing day. They were probably somewhere laughing their butts off about her predicament. Ever since she brought Jeremy back from the dead, her ancestors got a sick pleasure out of her misfortune.

The witches didn't want to understand that Jeremy was like family to her. They weren't a couple any more but that didn't mean she wanted him dead. He was one of the last persons tying her to the girl she uses to be – him and Matt. Giving him up would have been like burying herself.

There wasn't anything she could about that now. Reluctantly and still swearing, Bonnie stood up and went to take a shower. It was amazing what warm water could do to you.

Refreshed and half awake, Bonnie went back into her room and got ready. Half an hour later, the girl grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs and out of her house. Elena was supposed to come and pick her up.

Locking the front door behind her, the witch saw Elena's car coming down the street.

She hadn't opened the car door completely yet, when Elena bombarded her with questions. "Hey Bonnie, so good to see you. What have you been up to since I've seen you last?"

The witch hid her smile. If Elena only knew what she'd been up to. However, Bonnie wasn't ready for that conversation yet, and so she kept quiet.

Laughing she answered her friend. "Elena, I don't know what you're talking about. We've seen each other just tow days ago. It wasn't even that long. What should have happened?"

"Don't you play dumb with me, Bon. You know exactly what I'm talking about. You know, that mysterious guy you won't tell me and Caroline anything about. Did you guys talk? Did he call?" Elena wanted to know as she was driving towards the mall. Or what one called a 'mall' in a small town like Mystic Falls.

"Uhm … ya, we … talked. Don't look at me like that, 'Lena. So what? A few days ago I talked with Matt, but there is nothing going on either."

When they arrived at the mall, Caroline was already there waiting for them. Together the three best friends were ready to cause havoc.

* * *

All day, that feeling of emptiness, numbness hadn't left Bonnie. The ache in her chest had been quite unsettling and made concentrating on conversations quite an exasperation.

Was it really the magic? Or was she turning into one of those girls who depended on a boyfriend/ guy friend? If Bonnie hated anything, than it was uncertainty. Not knowing what was going on, made her paranoid.

Luckily, the witch had planned a calm afternoon today, lying in the sun in her backyard, listening to music and dozing of. Nothing fancy.

That was one of the positives things living in a small town. Even Caroline couldn't drag them through the mall for more than six hours. Most people were done in under two hours, including lunch.

With great anticipation, the witch was looking out for a lazy summer afternoon just chilling in her back yard. And even the strange feeling in her chest weakened the more the joyful expectation for her afternoon to come intensified.

_So, it isn't because of Damon after all. It's just an uneasy feeling like every time I'm around a vampire. _Elated, Bonnie convinced herself of her new conclusion, ignoring the inconsistency of her logic.

Chatting, the three friends left the mall in favor for the parking lot. Caroline said her goodbyes (running was so much faster nowadays) and left the other two on their own.

As she saw the brunette's car, Bonnie felt a shift in the atmosphere. That strange feeling gave away to a completely new feeling of glee.

Her happy mood, however, was short-lived.

Suddenly, Elena stopped. Following her gaze, Bonnie's eyes widened. Right next to the car parked Damon. The witch froze, realization dawning on her. All the time while she'd thought the feeling lessened because of Damon's absence, it got weaker because he was coming closer. Her life sucked. There wasn't any use of denying the connection between them any longer.

Though, that didn't mean she was throwing herself at his feet. It would be a cold day in hell before that happened.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" Elena tried to ask in a stern tone of voice, while simultaneously twirling a straw of her hair and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

_Honestly?! What are you trying to do here? Does anyone believe your innocent act? You've got a boyfriend so stand clear of mine! He's here for me, Doppelganger._

Bonnie couldn't believe herself. Did she just think that? This wasn't her. She didn't approve of Elena's behavior as of late but she was one of her best friends, where did all that aversion come from?

_Girl, you. are. jealous! _No, she couldn't be, could she?

Shaking her head, the witch decided to concentrate on the outside world and pushed her own irritating thoughts away.

"I was hungry. Here's more variety then at the Grill. Why not a hot girl full of endorphins? They taste so much better", Damon grinned.

"Damon, I thought you said you don't do that anymore. I thought you're only drinking from bags these days", Elena accused him.

"I do. Walking blood bags."

Perplexed, Elena looked from Damon to Bonnie, expecting her friend to say something. If one thing didn't change, it was the animosity between the witch and this particular vampire.

Bonnie knew she was supposed to get upset, get agitated. She knew she was supposed to threaten his life, to argue with him, to reprimand him. But, honestly, what was the use?

She **knew** he was just talking shit. It was just too easy to unsettle Elena. Should they really rip out each others' throats just because he was trash-talking?

Curious, Damon watched the witch. He was flabbergasted she kept quiet all that time. Usually, she'd have threatened him and sent an aneurism his way. Neither did happen.

"What do you want me to say, Elena? You asked, he answered."

"But, but ..."

"You know Damon. When he wants others to know what he's doing and where, he tells them without being asked. Otherwise he doesn't want anyone to know and if you ask him, he tells shit."

His little witch did know him better than he thought. It was nice to see he wasn't the only one in tune with her reactions.

The brunette's reaction was almost comical. Her eyes seemed to come out of their sockets. Surprises and sudden changes had never been her strong forte.

"Bad vampire, bad. Don't go eating off innocent people. - You're both happy now?" Bonnie didn't know why she was so irritated. But she was sick and tired of all those things everyone else thought she was supposed to do. Why was it alright for Elena to date someone who was involved with one of her ancestors? Why was it alright for Caroline to date Tyler – the one thing that could kill her easily? Why was it not alright for her to say what she wanted when she wanted? Why was she the only one who had to do what everyone else imposed on her?

What about her wants and needs?

Seeing Elena's mixed emotions, Damon decided to cut in, all the while looking straight at Bonnie. "Actually, I'm here to pick you up. You remember our deal?"

Her relief of being cut off, diminished as fast as it came. She should have known that he was hell-bent on sticking to their deal. When Damon Salvatore wanted something, he got it, and he wasn't one for patience.

Suspiciously, Elena again glanced from one to the other, opening her mouth to demand what was going on.

Still not ready for that confrontation, Bonnie came her before and walked to the passenger seat of the Camaro. "Sure I do. What are you waiting for? Let's go."

And the witch and the vampire drove off, leaving a dumbstruck Elena behind.

* * *

Driving along the road out-of-town, the two passengers kept silent.

Damon was waiting for the other shoe to drop, the witch had been all too willingly, whereas Bonnie couldn't believe she just jumped into a car with Damon.

"Where are we going?" Bonnie couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Out of town."

"Moron. As if I didn't get that from the 'Leaving Mystic Falls' sign", the witch hummed.

"You asked, I answered. And I didn't even lie about it."

The glare Bonnie shot him, made him change his tactic.

"You nearly jumped into my car back there just to escape Elena and all her questions. I guess you haven't told her anything. So I figured you don't want to go somewhere where she can find us. And we both know she's going to look for us", Damon explained his decision.

"So the Boarding House, my home and the Grill are out of question", the witch concluded finishing Damon's sentence. She had to admit Damon had thought about it and was right. Elena would pester the whole town in her search for them and demand answers. If Elena disliked something, it was not to be privy.

"Exactly."

"That still doesn't my answer. Where are we going?" She hated surprises, Caroline had been right about that. And not knowing where she was going in a car with a person she didn't trust only a few weeks ago, didn't any to diffuse her worries.

Though that feeling of glee in her chest that overtook her every time Damon was around did a good job of calming her. Sometime along the line she started to trust him.

Funny thing was, she trusted him with her life. She was absolutely sure, he'd have her back in a fight and he'd do all he could to save her. However, she wasn't convinced she could trust him with everyday stuff. Where was he taking her? Did he really want to drive somewhere to be left alone or was he going to abandon her on the roadside?

"Anyone ever told you that patience is a virtue?", Damon remarked, irritating Bonnie all the more.

"You should know all about that", Bonnie huffed under her breath, well knowing his vampire senses would let him hear it.

Damon cast the witch a glance. The girl was lucky he like-liked her, otherwise she'd be dead.

Just yesterday she'd been the one who told him that reminding her of his past conquests wouldn't do him any good with her. So, why'd she bring Katherine up?

_Women_, Damon thought shaking his head.

"Ah ah, witchy. Remember what we said yesterday? No more insulting me? I was keeping my part of the deal, now it's time you pay up", Damon reprimanded. It felt **so **good being superior.

"You know, just a few months ago I would have killed you for your little remark there", he added as an afterthought.

Out of the corner of her eye, the girl glanced at him. She knew he was right. But what was she supposed to feel? Was it a sign of his change? Should she be glad for it? Or should she be angry that he even though about doing such a thing? She couldn't believe he said it in such a serious, monotone tone of voice.

Silence settled in the car again. After Damon was sure his passenger wasn't going to respond to his last remark he switched on the radio and drove along.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Thank you again for all of your support, for adding the story or me to their follow or even favorite lists. And thank you for keeping the reviews coming – I love them.

Bella: There are some chapters left. Don't worry. (Never thought I'd say that). I'm glad you like the story that much.

Guest: I'm sorry but I don't get what you asked me. (Sometime I can be a bit dense.) But if you wanted to know if I have a block – I don't. My life is too boring and my updates not fast enough. And my technical skills are stuck somewhere in the stone age. ^^ I'm sorry if you wanted to know something else, then just ask again.

Vie: Thank you again for your review and for still doing it. I'm glad you love the story and I'm even more happy that I'm not the only one embarrassing myself by screaming or laughing while reading a story in public. ^^

**Disclaimer:** I don't own he Vampire Diaries or anything related to it or its characters. Neither do I own other things you recognize. Other well-known movies and items are just used as pop-cultural references. I'm not making any money of it (damn it!)

Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 12:

Fifteen minutes later, a powder-blue Camaro turned into the parking lot of a small diner just outside another small town south of Mystic Falls.

The drive was quiet, the atmosphere a strange mix of relaxed and tense. Both passengers knew each other and were comfortable with silence. However, there was a lot of unfinished business between them and neither of the two persons wanted to be the first to bring anything up to ruin their truce.

Damon was waiting for the little witch to say something, anything about his former behavior, or hers for that matter. Voicing the threats that had been left unsaid.

Bonnie, however, was still pondering about his sudden appearance and his insistence on speaking with her and ignoring Elena. One thing, the little witch **did** know, though. The dreaded feeling in her chest was gone ever since she got into the car with Damon and it never returned.

Parking the car and cutting of the motor, the vampire was opening Bonnie's door for her before she had a chance to unbuckle her seat belt. As of late, the little witch got to witness more and more the gentleman who was hiding underneath all the assholeness that was the exterior of one Damon Salvatore.

With a small smile, Bonnie took his hand and let him assist her getting out of the car. Her smile vanished fast. She should have known better than to think there was a gentlemanly side to Damon. All was great until Bonnie stood up. A mischievous smirk on his face told her all she needed to know: this stunt was planned. Instead of taking a step back and letting her step away, Damon stood his ground and had her body pressed against his.

Bonnie shot him a glare before Damon moved out of her way. He was glad he managed to get a rise out of her. Her compliance was just weird. He didn't know how to handle an amicable Bonnie. Not that he would ever tell her that.

After closing and locking the car, vampire and witch made their way to the diner. Only when they reached a booth at the window front of the restaurant and slid into opposite seats, Bonnie realized Damon hadn't let go of her hand until then.

The girl could hardly believe herself but it had felt so natural.

They barely sat when a young woman came bouncing to their table. _Wow, all that's missing are roller blades. _"Hello, my name is Katy, what can I get you both?", the girl asked happily while putting menu cards in front of them.

Deciding to play along the 50ies movie scene that had manifested itself in the witch's mind, Bonnie ordered her drink in the same joyful voice. "I'm getting a strawberry milkshake, thanks."

Damon raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him. What was going on? She wasn't her normal self nor was she jealous or aggravated – those feelings he'd understand. But this over-gleeful like behavior? That wasn't his little witch, it was more like Caroline and all her (fake) smiles.

Their waitress stared at him. His irritation of her hitting on him when he was in female company soon evaporated when he realized she wasn't hitting on him but waiting for his order. "A coffee for me", he said giving her a panty-dropping smile. _Who the hell does she think she is? Not hitting on me? What, she a lesbian? She'll never meet someone as hot as me again in all her life. _

"Thank you, I'll be back", Katy answered.

Bonnie was impressed. Though the girl was blushing like crazy she didn't give into him.

"So, what was that about?" Damon wanted to know, the scene a minute ago not forgotten.

"Uh, nothing. It was just so … Pleasantville like. And I couldn't stop myself from picturing 'Katy' serving on roller blades", the witch admitted. Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing but oh why...

A small smile graced Damon's lips. Over the last year he came to see 'the Bennett witch' as a strong, independent, strong-willed and no-nonsense type of woman which made moments like this, moments when she not only embraced her only 17 years of age but acted a bit childish, pretty special.

The strong, mean male vampire in him hated to admit it but it elated his heart to see her acting so carefree. After all the doom they'd been confronted with, he knew they all needed moments like that from time to time.

Few minutes later, the young girl was bouncing back to their table, their drinks on her tablet. "One strawberry milkshake for you and one coffee for you. Can I get you anything else?", the young waitress asked, still addressing both occupants, only lingering a few seconds longer than necessary on Damon.

At that Damon and Bonnie realized they hadn't even picked up the menu cards. Telling the waitress so, the girl left and the table fell into silence.

"You were right", Damon said after a few minutes.

"Wow, I think hell just froze over. You agreed with me." Bonnie couldn't help herself. Moments when Damon agreed with someone, anyone, were rare and she had to make the best of it. Teasing him about it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Don't start. Our waitress is acting like a character out of a 50ies television show. Just because you're too young to remember those and only have seen a movie with Spiderman and that blonde chick doesn't mean you're completely wrong."

"Why am I here again? I can't remember."

"Because you feel it, don't you?" Damon asked, suddenly dead serious.

Was he talking about what she thought he was talking about? Did he feel that tug at his heart to? He couldn't, could he? He wasn't, was he? _He's probably talking about his irresistibleness, he thinks he owns. Moron. What, am I suppose to jump him because he's hot? Jerk._

"Urgh! Don't make me say it, witch. You know **exactly **what I'm talking about. That … thing."

_Don't tell me we're back in junior high. The word you're looking for is 'feeling'. Now, together. Say it with me 'feel_

"That feeling. There, happy now?"

_Wow, it really did work. How great it'd be if I could manipulate their minds... _

Shaking her head, Bonnie returned to reality. "So, it's real. I tried to convince myself it was just my imagination or the uneasiness I feel when I meet vampires or other supernaturals who try to harm me", the witch revealed.

"I knew you felt a tug towards me since the first time we met. I mean who wouldn't." Damon smirked and Bonnie was ready to set him on fire and wipe that smug look off his face.

Leaning atop the table Damon whispered close to Bonnie's ear. "You can set me on fire anytime."

_Shit, did I say that out loud? No, I'm sure I didn't. Don't tell me vampires can read minds? But than Caroline or Stefan would have said something? Or is it that connection between Damon and me? Shit!_

"Don't worry. I can't read your mind. But the emotions on your face gave it away, witch. If I were you, I'd work on my poker face. You don't want your enemy to know what you're thinking", said Damon as he was sitting back down in his seat.

"Are you done? Can we come back to the original topic?" The witch was frustrated – with Damon or herself she didn't know, probably a bit of both.

Innocently, the vampire hold up his arms in the universal known sign of 'surrender'.

"So you feel it, too. That strange feeling of discomfort, uneasiness and a tug at your heart", Bonnie half asked, half stated.

A short nod was all the answer she got. _Hmm, seems like I have to do this on my own. _

"And a change with every mile we come closer to each other. And ... a ... a feeling of content?", the girl asked insecure, rubbing her neck in her discomfort.

The answering nod was smaller than before.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. _He really is making me say it. Get all that 'feeling stuff' out of the way before he says anything. _

"When I found the cure there were warnings all over it. I read them, of course I did. I had to know if someone else was going to die for your life or something like that. What they had all in common was the warning not to ignore the outcome of the spell because otherwise there'd only be pain and hurt.

"But it didn't sound too bad, too much of a prize to pay to save someone's life, you know. What was acknowledging feelings to a life?

"I think ... I think this bond we're feeling is what the warnings were about. Did you notice that the weird feeling intensified the longer we're separated? I mean I don't know if it's the same for you but the longer I'm gone the more squeamish I become.

"When I came home from the club I told you about, I was helpless to the tug. I had to go see you. I blamed it on Caroline but honestly, I was restless. The closer I got, the feeling weakened and was replaced by euphoria. Suddenly, I was calm.

"It had been the best night's sleep I had in some time.

"Last night, I was restless again. I couldn't sleep. I blamed it on our deal but I hardly could ignore the tug. And today in the mall? Don't ask me what Elena and Caroline were talking about, I drifted off all the time because of the uneasiness."

The witch paused. It was a lot to take in. For both of them. It wasn't only the first time Damon heard the complete story. It was the first time she was completely honest with herself, too.

Damon took it in straight. He knew there was more to his sudden healing than the witch had told him. Why did she have to hide such important things from him? He was part of the consequences as well – vampire or not.

What did that mean for them? Were they connected? For how long? Forever? And what would happen with him when she died?

What pain would come? And when she died had he to live with that pain for the rest of his unlife? Or if he died? Was she forced to live with that pain when there wasn't a cure for once to save him the next time?

Bonnie chanced a glance at him. Though he kept his poker face on, his eyes told her everything. The conflict she was feeling for the last week was apprehend in his eyes, too.

"Uhm ... I don't know anything about it but I guess the feeling will grow into pain for both of us", Bonnie sighed. Exhausted, she opened the menu card in front of her, turning the pages with one hand while the other lay on top of the other side of the card.

"Do you know what we can do? Is there something about it in one of the grimoires?" Damon asked.

"I don't know. I haven't looked yet. I tried to pretend that nothing of that was real", the witch answered sheepishly.

Absentmindedly, Damon grabbed for Bonnie's left hand trying to give her some comfort. His gesture told her what he couldn't put in words: they were in this together.

They were in this together and they'd find a way out of this mess together.

Bonnie smiled softly at Damon.

"Thank you."

Her words caught him off-guard. Why did she thank him? "For what?"

Before she responded, the girl took a deep breath. "For being here with me. For not freaking out. For not harming me or going off the deep-end. For showing me another side to you."

The vampire only shrugged with his shoulder, muttering a non-committing sound. "Huh."

Silence fell over the booth, witch and vampire looking into each other's eyes, Damon was still stroking Bonnie's hand with his thumb.

"Do you know what you want yet? Or shall I come later?", a happy voice brought the two supernaturals back to the here and now.

Blinking, Bonnie needed a moment to come back. "Uhm, I'll get a hamburger and some fries, please."

"You sir?" The young girl asked, still being professional.

"Nothing", he dismissed.

"I'll be back." Their waitress went to the kitchen.

Self-conscious, Bonnie retrieved her hand from Damon and tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ears.

"She has earned a big tip", Bonnie commented after a few moments.

"Why?" Sure, the girl was nice but she hadn't done anything special.

"When was the last time you met a waitress who didn't try to flirt with you? Katy didn't try anything", Bonnie smiled. It was nice to go somewhere where not every female between the age of 11 and 65 was trying to jump his bones right there in public.

"Ya, btw, what is wrong with her?"

Bonnie, once again, just rolled her eyes. He was Damon Salvatore and some things never changed.

As much as it irritated her, it gave her some kind of comfort in the stability of his behavior.

Few minutes later, the atmosphere in the diner changed. A few girls walked into the restaurant all the while loud chatting, giggling and laughing, making sure that every single guest noticed them, talking loud enough that the other patrons heard them gossiping about him and her, this and that and talking about how hot that actor or singer was and who they'd 'tap'.

There was (almost) nothing out there that agitated Bonnie more than girls like that – and it was saying a lot considering she was best friends with Caroline. And hearing them talk about that 'hot peace of a$$ over there with the, like, average looking mocha girl' infuriated her even more.

She wasn't jealous – at least she wouldn't admit to anything – but such a behavior was just a poor testimony for the female character these days. It was sad.

Damon had noticed the girls before they even came into the diner. As nice as it was to have people drooling over him and having girls and women alike at the ready wherever he went for both of his hungers, his vampire senses preferred girls a lot less gaudy. Their high-pitched voices made his ears bleed and their fragrances penetrated his sensitive sense of smell.

Hearing the gossip and not so subtle flirtations, Damon immediately felt better after being ignored by the waitress and seeing Bonnie becoming more and more irritated and pissed off did great things for his ego.

His little witch was jealous.

Opposed to the doubts that had plagued his thoughts ever since the morning of their first breakfast, he now knew that all of her talk was just that; she did like him and there was a real possibility for the 'more' to become reality.

"What is it? Something wrong?" Damon asked innocently.

Bonnie shot her companion a most incredible look. Was he for real? "I know you for too long to believe your ignorance."

The vampire smirked. "Get used to it. Looking like I do that's normal behavior. Everyone wants to get a piece of this", he gestured over his body, "and you'll see it every time you hang out with me."

_Then it would be best if I didn't come along anymore? What about that? You shanghaied me! You stupid …_

Before Bonnie could comment, however, one of the fake blondes came over to their booth. Breasts tugged up close to her neck, neckline close to her belly button and her short-sleeved blouse barely went to her ribcage. The skirt that was supposed to cover her butt and part of her legs didn't do a good job either and the high-heels looked acceptable for an exotic dancer.

Maybe it was possible that Bonnie exaggerated a bit but there was less outfit then in a Britney Spear's video.

Ignoring the girl in the booth, the wannabe-blonde puffed her chest out and gave Bonnie a shove into the corner of the seat as she sat down directly across from Damon. "Hey Sugar", the blonde purred.

_Honestly, who in the freaking hell says 'sugar'? Even Katherine had more class and she was sleeping and playing with brothers. _Bonnie just huffed.

"I'm Candy." _She can't be serious, can she? What, was her father a pimp and her mother his employee? _

"Hihihi, no, my name is Sophie. Pleasure to meet you ..."

For a split second Damon thought about his options and their consequences: One, he could play along with 'Sophie', but then Bonnie would be royally pissed off. His chances to get her would be non-existent. Two, he could talk to Bonnie and ignore the girl, but then 'Sophie' would huff and puff until she got the attention she so desperately wanted. Third, he could try to include Bonnie and pay her more attention until the blonde was so frustrated with the whole situation that she went back to her friends.

"Damon. I'm Damon and that's" Before he was able to utter another word, Sophie cut him off.

"Are you, like, a model or something?"

"What gave it away?"

"You just, like, so gorgeous. I noticed you, like, the moment I came here", Sophie flirted and grabbed for Damon's hand.

The girl was penetrative, Damon had a hard time to shake her and her advances off. But no matter how rude he resisted the girl and brushed her off, she didn't get the hint and Bonnie got more pissed with every second – knowing his luck, she got angry with him not the incident because he didn't defuse the situation. He needed a new tactic pretty fast.

"You noticed me the moment you got here? What else did you notice?" Damon asked.

_I can't believe he's flirting with her. Flirting with her when I'm present. I should've known better. Big, bad Damon Salvatore preferred his girls naïve and loose – not__ necessarily_ _in that order. _The witch couldn't believe that she had done it again – she'd started to trust a man and that's what happened. Not even her father stuck around for her. _That's what happens when you're acting like all the other silly girls and put your trust in Damon._

"I saw you sitting there, like bored and stuff. So, calling dibs, I come here, saving you from a … her, like asap", Sophie tried to flirt and dis Bonnie at the same time.

_What? She called 'dibs' and now I belong to her? Like a puppy? Who taught her shit like that? Do I look like some Chihuahua ready to be carried around in a purse? What was wrong with girls nowadays seeing Paris Hilton as their Messiah? _

Damon knew he was a hypocrite, just a few weeks ago he was glad for such kind of girls. They made it easy to satisfy him but after his enforced diet, he only was frustrated by them. Growing up in the time of Southern Courtesy and the mannerisms of the pre-civil war area he sometimes couldn't believe the direction it all went. As much as he hated his father, it was kind of amusing picturing him in this time period.

_There'd be a lot more work for him ridding the world of evil and sin. He'd try and burn down the whole city. Mystic Falls __**is**__ pretty similar to Vegas ..._

"So, you saw I was with company?" It was too easy. The girl in front of him confirmed his pathetic view of blondes.

"Yeah, and I thought 'I save him' and stuff", the girl smiled at him, squeezing Bonnie out of her seat.

"Humph", Bonnie snorted. _Because that's so believable. She only wanted to save him from his boring destiny. As if, cow!_

"What did you just say?" Sophie demanded in her high-pitched voice. When she realized she wouldn't get anything more from Bonnie than the shaking of her head, the girl went on. "You know, it's your own fault. If you weren't, like, so boring ... Don't matter. You're, like, so ugly I wouldn't go out of my house like that. What's with your hair? All curly and stuff."

Did girls like that really exist? Bonnie had thought them to be an invention of silly teen movies. Just because someone on television acts like that you don't have to copy them!

Like Caroline Sophie was lucky that in all of her witchy reservoir there wasn't Superman's heat-vision included. Her eyebrows would be scorched otherwise.

After all this time defeating the evil, Damon was pretty much in tune with the smallest of Bonnie's reactions and muscle tensions. It was about time to intervene.

"First of all, you with all your knowledge of fashion", he shot a smirk at Bonnie sharing his joke at the expanse of the blonde, "you should know that her hair is not curly. Original Cindy had curly hair. Her hair is wavy and I like them this way", Damon informed the obnoxious girl highhandedly.

"Second, my companion here, the one you try to push off her seat, is way more interesting than all of your yap-yap-yapping. You sound like a cackling goose. Oh yeah. And you see that ring on my finger?" Damon went on.

"OMG! It's, like, awesome. Is this ...", Sophie tried to get back into the game.

"That's my wedding band and the **beautiful woman** you're insulting the whole time is my wife", the vampire stated boldly.

Bonnie's head shot up, staring incredibly at him. He didn't just say what she thought he did, did he?

The other teenage girl could only gasp. "But ... but ... To **her**?! You can't be."

_Eloquent._

"See the ring on my finger?" The girl nodded. "See the ring on her finger?" The girl nodded again.

"There you go. And now shoo-shoo. Go back to your mass breeding over there and leave us alone."

_Why had I had to put that ring on my finger today of all days? _Bonnie couldn't believe it. Getting ready this morning she'd had a strong longing to put that ring on. It had been her Grams' and with all that's been going on she'd wanted to feel close to her again. Just a small platinum ring. Nothing extraordinary.

"Why did you have to do that?", the witch accused.

"What, did you like her? I can call her back you know. But honestly, her voice was getting on my last nerve. I was that close to killing her. Urgh, don't give me that look. You were close behind me in that regard and you know it, Judgey."

"You could have just compelled her." Bonnie shut up.

The moment the words left her mouth she wished she could take them back. She couldn't believe she'd said that to Damon. After telling him for the better time of one year that it was immoral and wrong to compel people she just gave him the okay to use it in uncomfortable situations.

Damon's head shot up. Did she just say that? So, his little witch started to welcome the perks of vampire abilities – not only when she had drunk some alcohol.

His last thought brought him to another topic.

"What were you thinking?" Damon wanted to know.

Startled, Bonnie looked at him with big eyes. "What are you talking about? Haven't you been the one for the easy way and compelling people?"

"Urgh! Not that. What were you thinking going out drinking and then driving your car? You could have crashed and died, you know that? There's a reason why it's illegal and it's not to piss people off. And someone with a slim stature as yours should even less do it! You're the voice of reason! What, just because Caroline can do it you think 'hey, it's okay, I can do it too'. You know she's a vampire! And you're the one who preaches that witches are still humans besides belonging to the supernaturals. **What were you thinking? Were you?**" Damon's tirade went on for some time more.

Bonnie was flabbergasted. Did he mean it? Did he mean all what he was saying? Somehow, to her own dismay, she was touched by Damon's concern and worries for her (even though another part of her mind wanted to shout 'hypocrite' at him because he was the last one to lecture about drinking and driving).

Ashamed, the girl looked down at her dish. Katy had brought it while 'Sophie' had still been there, vanishing as fast as she had appeared. "I wasn't thinking at all. I just felt that tug. That was the only thing that mattered. I had to do something about it and didn't think it through", the witch admitted.

Heavy silence fell over the booth. Damon was mad at Bonnie and her irresponsibility, elated that nothing had happened and glad she was still talking calmly and honestly with him after Sophie's little visit at their table. Bonnie was ashamed for acting like a clichéd high school student getting drunk (even though she wasn't more than a little tipsy the whole evening) and driving afterward.

Not saying a word to each other the supernaturals kept quiet. Bonnie ate her meal while Damon nursed his second cup of coffee the waitress had refilled when she'd brought Bonnie's dish. Only after finishing, the witch looked up again.

Staying in the diner wouldn't help their changed mood. It was time to go. Before Bonnie could say anything, Damon had gone to Katy and paid for their drinks and meal.

"I could have paid for myself", Bonnie told the vampire as soon as he was next to her.

"Yeah, but I didn't grow up like that. Besides, I'm the one who kidnapped you, so be quiet."

Still bickering, witch and vampire left the restaurant. As Damon held the door open for Bonnie to go through, Bonnie looked at Damon, still not used to such a behavior all the time, and bumped prompt into a guy.

"Oh, I'm sorry", Bonnie said still not looking at the man in front of her.

"Don't worry, someone as beautiful as you can bump into me anytime", the guy leered.

_What is wrong today? First Sophie, now that guy. Do Damon or I have a bulls-eye on us that everyone is hitting on us? _Why were it always douches that hit on her or some hussies on Damon? What was wrong with ordinary people flirting with them?

In the blink of an eye, Damon was in front of Bonnie, right between the witch and the stranger. On instinct, both men puffed out their chests and took a brighter stance trying to claim their territory and timid their opponent. However, all his buff muscles weren't of much use for the other man, the vampire in Damon enhanced all his emotions, possessiveness and territoriality included.

Before the stranger knew what was going on, the vampire had him pushed out of the entrance way of the diner. As the door closed behind Bonnie, it was just Damon and her, the douche and two friends of his on the parking lot.

Bonnie blinked. When she opened her eyes again, her vampire had grabbed the offender at his collar and was growling at him. His friends, luckily, never intervened.

"Listen to me and listen good, you piece of shit", Damon growled as he was staring into his opponent's eyes. "She belongs to me, so keep your f*cking hands off! You'll apologize to her, go into the diner with your 'buddies' there and you're going to be quiet. You'll leave Katy a big tip and when one of those blondes comes over to your table, you'll admit loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear that you're gay and you live in a happy three-way relationship with dumb and dumber here, understood? Go, have a nice day."

He'd love to see that play out. Homophobes made it just too easy to embarrass and harass them and that guy just fit that description.

After everything was said, Damon took Bonnie's hand in his and made his way over to his Camaro.

The girl was in a daze. What had just happened? One moment Damon was holding the door open for her and she ran into a brick wall and Damon was threatening the brick and suddenly, they were sauntering back to the car. It had happened all so fast, Bonnie could barely keep up.

* * *

"Did you just compel him?" Bonnie asked incredibly after a few moments driving peacefully in Damon's car.

'So what?' said the glance he gave her.

She couldn't believe it. How often had she told him that he couldn't go around and compel people just like that?! He was the one trying to prove that he had changed and wasn't any longer the (pretended) soulless creature he'd been a year before.

"Hey, don't go all judgey on me here. I did exactly what you told me to do a few minutes earlier. You told me that compelling would have been the better option."

He was right and they both knew it. Beaten with her own weapons.

Silently, the former fiends drove back to Mystic Falls.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and put the story or me to their following or even favorite lists. Thank you so much – I really appreciate all the support.

Vie: I know what you mean. I wouldn't have sat there and done nothing either. But if Bonnie is anything, it's stubborn and proud and she knows she has no claim on Damon (yet) and doing something to 'Sophie' would have been like admitting defeat. However, you got me on a new idea. Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** If I'm going to disclaim all that doesn't belong to me or wasn't my idea in the first place in this chapter, we've got a whole new chapter here. So, everything you recognize and some of the things you don't recognize belongs to their rightful owners. I'm not making any money with it, I'm just name-dropping.

Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 13:

"You know we still don't know much more than before you kidnapped me", Bonnie stated on their drive back home to Mystic Falls.

"So what? I now know you like me, you get jealous when someone else hits on me and I know I'm not alone in this. Just until a year ago I had my feelings switched off as good as possible. I convinced myself not to feel anything and suddenly, just when I'm starting to get used to them, there is this whole magic thing. It's like turning into a vampire all over again – everything from 0 to 60 in under a second.

"At least now I know you're not any better. As I said before, we're in this together. And if anyone can make sense of this mess it's us", Damon reassured Bonnie, his right hand wandering on to her left thigh, squeezing gently for added effect.

"Yes, and we know that you're older than me or 'Sophie'. Original Cindy? Honestly? 'Candy' back there pretty sure had no idea who that is."

"Hey, Jessica Alba is hot. And Jessica living together with a hot lesbian? You don't expect me not to have seen the show, do you?"

Speechless, the witch shook her head. What she should have expected was his answer.

"Besides, **you** **knew **what I was talking about", Damon smirked.

"A young hot woman kicking everyone's a$$ and fighting for a cause? I loved her … And Alec was nice to look at – even though I watched the re-runs. Huh, you know what? Ever since you came into my life that **is** pretty much my life. A girl with special abilities fighting for the good cause, fighting for her friends and family and keeping a smart-aleck in check and save him over and over again. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Bonnie smirked at Damon.

Damon enjoyed the playful side of Bonnie. It was a nice change to her serious, no-nonsense attitude all the time. Signaling that he had heard her, he squeezed her thigh again, letting his fingers travel a bit further.

"One inch higher and you'll lose your fingers. I hope you're left-handed", the witch warned her companion. "Just because we're getting along and face those changes together doesn't mean I'm letting you get away with everything."

The vampire only grinned at her.

"But we still don't know anything more about those damn consequences. What is going on with that feeling? Will it hurt? When will it? How can we prevent that? What else is coming? I'm only seventeen I hadn't planned on being bound to my bed because of too much pain. Urgh, stop it. I don't think it sexy if I'm forced to lay there not able to move."

Damon's grin widened.

"Urgh! You know what I meant", Bonnie huffed.

"Don't worry, I know", Damon placated the witch. "But you can't fault a guy for picturing."

Bonnie gasped and crossed her arms in front of her, instinctively trying to cover as much of her body as possible.

His grin widened even more.

"Okay, okay. I'm serious again. What? I can be serious." Damon glanced at the witch in his passenger seat. "Do you think there's anything in one of the grimoires?"

"I honestly have no clue. There might. I mean it's our best bet. What else could we do?", the witch pondered. "But it'll take days, scratch that weeks searching the books for anything. It took me almost a week to find your cure and I had already checked out the Bennett grimoires before hand and only a quarter of the Martin ones by then."

"So, you need time – the one thing we absolutely don't have", lamented the vampire. "Okay, what about I bring you home, you collect your grimoires or at least those with the highest chance of success and I look in our library and my old man's study for anything useful and then I come and pick you up and we can have a look at them together. I mean you're the one who knows what we're looking for and I'm the one with the superhuman-speed. Whatcha say?

Bonnie hesitated a short moment but then she thought 'What the hell'. _I had fun this afternoon and if it means I don't have to fight to ignore that feeling of uneasiness – what harm can it be?_

"Okay", she told him much to his surprise. Damon had expected an argument or more resistance from his little witch but it seemed she started to get quite comfortable in his presence. He gave her a small smile.

Bonnie answered in kind as they passed the sign 'Welcome to Mystic Falls'.

* * *

The light blue oldtimer had just turned into the street of the Bennett Home, when the comfortable mood changed suddenly. They were unmistakably back in Mystic Falls and with the small town the tension came back. Elena was sitting on the swing on the porch of Bonnie's home waiting for the witch to return.

One glance at the doppelganger's face told both passengers all they needed to know: the girl was irritated and impatient.

"Damn, and I wanted to kiss you before you could get away", Damon smirked at Bonnie.

"Dream on, vamp-boy. What are we going to do now?"

"Stick to the plan for now. I'll text you. I'm pretty sure my brother is awaiting me, too, ready to lecture me for … don't know, he's Stefan after all so pretty much he's going to lecture me for all eternity."

"'Kay, see you then."

With those words, Bonnie left the car and prepared herself to meet Elena. What was she going to say to Elena? What could she reveal? What did she want to reveal? Sure, Elena was one of her best friends but Bonnie was painfully aware of her attraction to Damon. And being friends as long as the two were you got to know the other one quite close. Bonnie knew that Elena loved the attention. Caroline wasn't the only one in their trio who tried to outdo the other one, Elena was right there with her. Even though the brunette girl would never admit it and had always brushed it off.

Shyly, Bonnie went down the path to the porch. "Hey 'Lena. What"

"Don't you 'Hey 'Lena' me. What were you doing with Damon? Where were you? I was worried sick. I didn't know anything! I didn't know where you were or how long you were gone. I went to the Boarding House searching for Damon, to the Grill, I came to your house but neither Damon nor you were anywhere! **Where were you?!** When I didn't find anyone I went back to Damon's house, thinking that he may have returned when I was running across the whole town.

"I met Stefan there and told him everything. He didn't know what's going on either! Then I came back here. **What is going on?!** Since when do you get along with Damon? Why did you get into Damon's car? Why was he there in the first place? I thought I was your best friend and now I have to find out you're not telling me anything anymore!" By now Elena had talked herself into a frenzy.

Taking a deep breath, the doppelganger continued calmer. "Why did Damon come to pick you up? What is going on between you two?"

"Hi Bonnie, nice to see you. How are you? How was your day?" Bonnie asked sarcastically. Damon's influence made itself known.

"I … I …" The brunette noticed it too. Thinking about it, Bonnie was acting more and more like Damon for the last few weeks or months.

"Come in Elena. I don't think that's something we should discuss in front of my house. My neighbors don't need to know every detail of my life."

Putting the key into the keyhole, Bonnie opened the door and went into the living room, her friends close behind her. Somehow, the witch didn't want to go to her room with Elena.

"So, what do you want to know?", Bonnie asked a few moments later. Both girls were sitting on the couch in the living room, each with a glass of ice coffee in their hands.

"What were you doing with Damon? …uhh … I mean … uh … he didn't do anything to you, did he?"

_Sure that was what you were thinking... _Bonnie started to begin to hate herself. Her comments got snarkier every day.

"Uhhmm … we were hanging out. Talking. Nothing special." The witch tried it with indifference. If she kept it simple and emotionless, Elena, maybe, wouldn't make a big deal out of it either.

"Damon Salvatore just 'hanging out' and '**talking**'?! Because that sounds just like Damon. And doing it with you? You've never gotten along – and that was when you both were forced to spent time together. What has suddenly changed?" Elena was determined to get to the bottom of this.

The teenage witch sighed. What should she tell? Where to begin? "I … Damon and I … we're friends." Bonnie shrugged with her shoulder.

Elena gaped. Damon and Bonnie were friends? Since when? What did that mean? "What? Since when? Just a week ago you were at each other's throats. What changed?"

"I … I don't really know. After the whole mess with the werewolf bite was over", oh goodness, how was she supposed to say this, _he started to stalk me, surprise me, visit me, following me, we started to make out from time to time?_, "we started to hang out with each other. Nothing major, nothing long, just a small talk here and a short meeting there."

_Whoo, there, nothing about making out and incredible expansive gifts, nothing about declarations and promises, and least of all nothing about spending the night in Damon's bed in his clothes._ Bonnie was elated.

That was until she took another glance at Elena.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The brunette was disappointed. For a whole year she tried to get Damon and her on civil terms but both refused that. And suddenly everything is changed, they're not only civil to each other but they're friends now?!

"I don't know. It just happened. We didn't set dates to meet up or plan something. We just met and after all we've been through, after what we all have been through, we decided that it was silly to try to kill one another every time our own 'Justice League' meets up to plan yet another defense against yet another bad guy.

"And we're not really friends. But after we came to that conclusion we decided to be civil and then we got along. There's nothing more to it", Bonnie said and crossed her fingers behind her back.

She hated lying to Elena but in the long run it would be better not to tell anything yet. Especially considering the unfinished business not only between Bonnie and Damon but between Elena and Damon as well – whatever it was her old friend was feeling for her new friend.

"Okay. I just wished you would have told me. I thought we were best friends and told each other everything." When the first shock started to settle, the doppelganger calmed down. After all, it was what she had wanted for so long, right?

Bonnie, on the other hand, had to swallow at Elena's words. They were best friends, that was true and the little witch doubted that anything could ever change that. However, she didn't appreciate the guilt trip Elena was trying to lay on her. Knowing her for so long, Bonnie **knew** it was intentionally. She really didn't think it fair to be accused of being a terrible friend for not telling when Elena was the one who started the secret keeping when she didn't tell Bonnie what was going on with Stefan when they first met. She could have given her some points at least.

From then on, the secrets and mysteries started to pile until a huge _stake_ was lodged between the best friends.

_It is what it is._

"Yeah, but there wasn't anything to talk about. I have no idea what his little stunt this afternoon was. Knowing Damon he doesn't either."

At Bonnie's words both girls smiled at each other and all the apprehension and poisonous feelings were forgotten.

* * *

A few miles away from the Bennett home a similar talk was taking place.

After Bonnie left his car, Damon drove back to the Boarding House as he had said. He barely had entered the house when Stefan was greeting him sitting in the armchair in the den.

Hearing his older brother walk in, Stefan had announced his presence. Quiet a dramatic appearance for the nice, unobtrusive brother.

"Where were you?" Stefan wanted to know.

"Out." Since when did he give account to his brother? He never told him … stuff. Only when Stefan needed to know or didn't want to know – the latter was always much more fun.

"What were you doing with Bonnie?"

"You voyeur you", Damon smirked. "What, you wanna see Bonnie naked or you wanna get some clues to what to do in between the sheets?"

Stefan only shook his head. Sometimes even he believed his brother was a lost cause. Ignoring his last question, he went on. "You know you had Elena running all over town in search for the both of you. You were gone for hours."

Damon looked at the clock and rolled his eyes. They hadn't been out for three hours! "And why do you think I care what Elena was doing? I was out. I had my fun and if you need to know, yes, Bonnie was with me. Btw, she, too, had fun. A lot of fun."

Dull and duller were too easy to upset. His little brother and his doppelganger-girlfriend were perfect for one another in that regard.

"If you did anything to her", Stefan started to threaten.

"Relax, little brother. You really think I would harm the one person that managed to save my life? Once again? Thanks for all your confidence. Thanks a lot." Damon said and stomped off to his room.

Slamming the door behind him, Damon muttered under his breath. Over time it became tiresome to hear the same threats and lectures and **doubts** again and again and again. And in his hurry to get away from his brother, he'd forgotten the alcohol. Could it get any worse?

He knew he should have kept quiet. Only a moment later, there was a knock at his door. "Damon, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself ever since you're cured. What did you do with Bonnie? Why were you at the mall? Why didn't anyone of you answer their cell phones? Why did you kidnap her?"

Stefan didn't know when to leave things be.

Furious, Damon ripped his door open. "You know what? Why do you have to accuse me all the time of stuff I didn't even do? I didn't do anything to Bonnie! We're friends now. Why is that so hard to believe? You and Elena were the ones who always tried us to get along, who wanted us to get along, who forced us to work together for the 'greater good'. And then, when we are friends and we're getting along and don't try to make the other one suffer on sight, then suddenly you two have a problem with that? Why?! Because it wasn't your idea this time? Because you're jealous? Why is it so hard to believe? Why?!"

"It's hard to believe when I smell Bonnie all over your room and on your sheets!"

"So you made a habit out of smelling my sheets?" Damon challenged.

"Only when I smell Bonnie." Stefan stilled. That came out all wrong.

Sighing, he shook his head yet again. His brother had the ability to aggravate him like no other. "That wasn't what I meant. Bonnie is my friend. I care for her and I'm worried. I know you, Damon, and I know your track record not only with women but with people who trusted you. I don't want to see Bonnie hurt."

"What about me?! Never mind. Doesn't matter. I don't care anymore. You see what you want to see. That those 'friends' betrayed me first doesn't matter because I'm the bad one, doesn't matter they had me maimed to be killed. No, Damon is the ruthless one. Leave me the f*ck alone!"

"Damon … I … I'm sorry. Bonnie is my friend. I don't want to see either of you hurt. It's just, she's my friend and Elena's best friend", Stefan tried to explain.

"Stop it. Don't dangle Elena in front of me every time you want me to do something. I don't care about Elena. I stopped to care about her some time ago. But neither of you both realized it."

Still angry but a lot calmer, Damon left his room, pushed past Stefan and walked to the library. He had plans with Bonnie and he was going to stick to them – come what may.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Wow, I can't believe all the reviews and PMs I got for the last chapter – thank you all so much. And thank you to everyone who is reading this story, I forgot to say anything in the last chapters. And also, thank you to everyone who follows the story or me and everyone who added the story or me to their favorites.

Dioramanya: I agree with you on a lot of the things you said about Bonnie and her timid behavior. I see her as passionate but peace-loving and loyal person – and this includes her long time friend Elena. However, I like to think of Stefan as Bonnie's friend. Sure, he doesn't know her for that long and he is the boyfriend of her (best) friend but even though I guess the friendship isn't a strong one or a deep-rooted one, it is still a friendship – as far as it can go with a witch who hates vampires per se. Thanks for your review.

Guest (1): Exactly. I tried to make Elena not look as much of a jealous _ … uhm … girl … but I guess my aggravation with season 3 made itself known. Thanks for reviewing.

Guest (2): Thanks.

Vie: I know I've said it before but I love you and your reviews. They have me laughing every time I read them – though, I'm a bit worried. You don't have a spy on my laptop to read what's going to happen, do you? You'll probably get why after this chapter (for the record: it was finished before I read your review).

**Disclaimer:** Neither VD nor anything related to it is mine. I'm not making any money of it – don't get your panties into a bunch.

Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter 14:

Who ever had the moronic idea to go through all the grimoires and diaries and books? Damon had needed full on 30 minutes to collect all the books with possible answers to their questions out of the library and study. He'd never been so glad that he didn't need to take a breath anymore as when he grabbed the dusty notebooks .

The vampire brought all the necessary books into the library before he texted Bonnie that their plan was still running and he was going to come pick her up at 7 pm sharp.

One hour left to get the other things he was going to need.

Entering the supermarket Damon couldn't remember when he'd last been grocery shopping. Usually, Stefan bought meals and snacks to keep up appearance or Elena brought her favorites over. However, he wouldn't deliver his little witch what some other person wanted – she'd get what she preferred. Everything but him – he was wanted by a lot of women and he was going to convince the witch that he was what she, too, preferred.

For the first time in a long while the vampire completely ignored the glances and stares the female patrons shot his way. Running errands took longer than he thought (compulsion only minimized the cue but couldn't make the workers work faster, they were just to incompetent).

Damon returned home with half an hour to spare. Depositing the snacks with the books in the library, he left the room and went to get some drinks. Bonnie thought he was an a$$? He would show her what killing with kindness meant. (Or he would get her drunk – he wasn't quite sure which way to go yet.)

One hop under the shower later, the older Salvatore was about to leave the house. Five minutes were left to get to Bonnie on time.

"Damon, where are you going?"

He should have known it, it'd been too good to be true. Stefan had to pass him up.

"Somewhere. Didn't we talk a few times about you wanting to know everything and me opening up to you? Not going to happen." Impatiently, Damon looked at the time. He needed to get going. "Now, let me leave. I have places to see and people to do." His little brother never got the concept.

"Damon...", Stefan began again.

"Stefan...", Damon mocked him. Deciding to cut him some slack, he gave a bit away. "Just go over to Elena and leave us alone. I'm not going to hurt her."

Stefan gave him a short nod and Damon left.

* * *

Seven pm sharp, Damon knocked on the front door of the Bennett home. He heard Bonnie up in her room. After waiting a few moments, he knocked again before leaning against the banister of the porch.

Exactly seven minutes after seven (typical witch antics. What was their obsession with repdigits or numbers in general?) Bonnie came out. "Hey", the girl smiled.

"Don't you 'hey' me. Did you get my text?", Damon asked.

"Yes", Bonnie answered questioningly, internally she was grinning.

"I told you I'd be over 7 sharp, didn't I?"

"Yes Damon. You **told** me", the witch informed him. "However, I won't tend to your every whim. You won't see me asking how high when you tell me to jump."

_Witches. Bennett witches._ "Women." Did he say that out loud?

The glare she shot him told him, yes, he did.

"Give me your bags and hop on", Damon covered quick.

"What?"

"Bags. Things made out of cloth or leather or synthetic etc., where you put other, smaller things into, so that you can carry them around easily", Damon mocked. "Those things on both of your shoulders."

"Oh why, gee, thanks Damon. That was exactly what I didn't get." Only a few short minutes in his company and she was fed up with him. Angrily, she pushed both of her bags full with grimoires into Damon's chest forcing him to grab them.

The vampire put the strings of the bags over his shoulders, one on each side before addressing Bonnie once again. "Hop on."

"What?" _Didn't we have the same conversation just seconds ago?_

"Hop on."

"What? Where?" He wasn't suggesting what she thought he was, was he?

"My back. You see a car here? I thought you would be more comfortable on my back but if you can't wait to put your legs around my waist and press your lithe little body and your two girls against me, be my guest", the man leered. Okay, so he was probably going with getting her drunk and not killing her with kindness – so what?

Bonnie shook her head. What had she agreed to? Hesitantly, she turned to Damon wondering for a short moment if she should go with his second suggestion. His look would be priceless.

However, she didn't want to risk anything so she climbed on his back. Where had the good old days gone when a girl rode on the handle bar or the crossbar of his bike?

"Ready?" Damon grinned over his shoulder at her.

The girl closed her eyes and sighed.

When the cutting wind was over and they were standing in front of the Boarding House, Bonnie hadn't even finished her sigh. _That was fast._

"So, how was your first time." The vampire couldn't resist to ask.

"Fast", the Bennett witch deadpanned.

A bit muffed, Damon had to give her that one. He did provoke her and ran right into that.

Dismounting her from his back, he tried it again. "No, honestly, how was it? Everything all right? Or are you flustered?" Okay, not much better but … oh well.

"You know if I didn't want to get to the bottom of all that as much as you, I'd leave right now. And if you really want to know, my ears are ringing, my vision is blurry and my hair is a mess."

"Okay, okay. I back off." Damon gave in as vampire and witch walked to the front door. "Before we enter, I have to tell you something."

Bonnie glanced at Damon, he was unusually serious which scared her. What was he going to say? Did he just play with her? Was nothing what he said true? Did something else happen?

"When we came back this afternoon, Elena waited for you." The girl nodded. "And like Elena waited for you, Stefan did for me. And I was so right before. He totally lectured me. I asked him to leave tonight because otherwise he would be pestering us all the time and he nodded. But I neither know if he already left nor if he really meant it. Just be prepared for an interrogation."

Fighting the smile that was about to break out, Bonnie nodded. "Okay." It was cute how he warned her. It almost felt like meeting the family for the first time.

With one last look at Bonnie, Damon opened the door for his little witch and let her enter. He didn't know why but it felt more intimate to have her in his home than before. Not knowing where they were to do this, Bonnie waited for Damon to lead the way, falling a few steps behind when he climbed up the stairs to the library. So what, she admitted he was attractive and who could blame her for enjoying the view?

"What did you put into those bags? Bricks?" Damon asked as he took the straps off his shoulders.

When Bonnie entered the library, she was speechless. With wide eyes she took in the books and cozy corner Damon had prepared. Two blankets were spread out on the floor to make it more comfortable. The necessary notebooks were stapled around the blankets. Snacks and drinks were next to them.

That cozy little corner was the last thing she had expected – of the evening and of Damon himself. "Wow", muttered Bonnie under her breath.

Damon, however, brushed it off like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Sit."

Bonnie decided to play along. There was no use in pointing it out when he didn't want it to be a huge deal. Besides, the sparks in her eyes spoke volumes of how much she appreciated this.

The feeling of glee she felt every time she was with Damon ever since the cure of the werewolf bite, spread and intensified all through her body.

* * *

Witch and vampire had just made themselves comfortable on the blankets. Bonnie was holding a grimoire in her hands while Damon just looked at her. They were talking about what to look for in those books, what could help them, anything that could prevent that infamous pain or get their feelings and emotions under control, any information about the consequences of the 'True Love's Kiss' magic, when Stefan walked in.

"Oh … hey Bonnie", Stefan said.

Still looking in Damon's direction, Bonnie rolled her eyes at Damon. They both knew Stefan was only playing the innocent act.

"Hey Stefan."

"So, what are you two doing?", he inquired.

Whereas Bonnie had a hard time fighting the smile and laugh that wanted to break out, Damon wanted to kill his brother. That was **exactly** why he didn't tell him anything. Stefan never listened to him. Why did he even bother?

"Stuff. You wanted to leave." Damon told his brother.

"I'm on my way. I just wanted to say 'hey'. How are you, Bonnie? Everything alright?"

"I'm good. Everything is fine." Bonnie played along. "Have fun. Good night."

The younger Salvatore was dumbfounded. Did Bonnie really just end the conversation? She just dismissed him.

Smiling, Stefan eased off. "Okay, okay. I can take a hint", he smiled. "Good night. Have fun with whatever you're doing."

With that he left his brother and friend alone.

* * *

"I warned you. I told him to leave. I even gave him more information than usually. But does he listen? No, my brother has to play chaperone and make sure the kids don't do anything stupid."

Damon was ranting. He had started the moment the front door closed behind Stefan. Another first, Bonnie would never have thought she'd see Damon rambling – scratch that, she didn't think he did that – never.

But there they were, still in the library and while Bonnie kept sitting on the blankets, Damon had stood and was now pacing in front of her – left and right, left and right. It was hypnotic.

"You know, he didn't only accuse me of kidnapping you but he implied other things. Like harming you and forcing myself on you. My own brother believes I'd do that. I never once in my life did something like that. Not during the war, not now. I never even compelled a girl to sleep with me. I only compel them for a gulp and for them to forget the biting.

"And now my brother thinks I would do that to the one person who saved me? The one person who can fight me? If I wanted you gone I would have done something the moment I met you. I never played nice with people who wanted to harm me. Ask Mason Werewolf or Klaus Original. I wanted them gone and I never pretended otherwise. You're still here. Why do they think I would hurt you now?

"And to do that to you? Honestly? Why? Why does my own brother think that of me? There a lot of things he can accuse me of that are actually true but something like that? Shouldn't he know me better?"

It broke Bonnie's heart seeing him like that. No, Damon wasn't close to tears or broken but knowing how much his brother meant to him – and for Bonnie it was obvious even when Damon tried to hide it – and hearing him say those words and to realize that Damon was the one closer to his brother than the other way around, realizing that Stefan did indeed accuse him of such things and thought him possible of doing stuff like that, was too much.

Again doing something she never thought she'd do in her lifetime, the girl stood up, walked over to Damon and hugged him. The vampire stiffened as the witch's arms hold him tight. He couldn't remember the last time someone had given him a hug just for the sake of giving him a hug. After a few minutes he relaxed and returned Bonnie's embrace squeezing the girl tight. It was nice to have someone who didn't only expect the worst behavior from him.

Huh, he'd never thought that person to be Bonnie.

After a few calming moments, they released each other and went back to sit down again. Observing his behavior, Bonnie had o fight her smile. Big, bad boy Salvatore was nervously glancing around the room, visible embarrassed. Too bad he couldn't blush anymore, Bonnie would have had some fun pointing his pink cheeks out.

Deciding to cut him some slack, he seemed to have gone through quite a lot of different emotions during the short hours of their separation. For the first time since they took residence in the library, witch and vampire went to their task.

* * *

"You found anything?" The vampire asked hours later.

"Not really. Just some tidbits here and there but not really anything we don't know or haven't figured out", sighed the Bennett witch. Sometimes she hated her restrictions. What good did witchcraft do when it was useless every time you were in need of it?

"I don't even know what I'm looking for."

Bonnie shot him an exasperated glare. "And you couldn't have said anything, I don't know, when we started?!"

"Because you know what we're looking for", Damon responded.

As much as she wanted to argue, he was right. They both were fishing in the dark.

"Come here", Damon told Bonnie.

"Come here, **please**", he reticulated when he saw Bonnie's still present glare. She tried to teach him a lesson earlier in the evening about 'telling her to do something' but he was used to tell people what to do – he'd done it all his life. Even when he'd still been human. He didn't mean it in a mean way but the stoic, independent woman in front of him had to take it the wrong way.

Neither Elena nor Caroline ever did that – okay Elena acted like a brat when he told her 'no' and with Caroline it could be that it was the compulsion that had her do a lot of things he told her to but whatever.

Looking satisfied and quite proud with herself, Bonnie rose to her knees and knee-walked over to Damon. For the first time she was bigger than Damon who was still sitting.

"Sit down, **please**", Damon added after seeing her rise one eyebrow.

Bonnie did as he'd **asked** her.

Suddenly, her ankles were grabbed, her legs stretched out over his and his arm was around her shoulder. When Bonnie knew what was going on and looked at Damon for a hint, he was reading through the book in his hand that was around Bonnie.

First, she wanted to protest. Who did he think he was? However, it was comfortable and the warmth radiating off his body felt too nice to move away. Putting her own book on her lap to read, Bonnie enjoyed their position. Not that she would ever admit it to him.

* * *

Emerged in the grimoires, Damon noticed a shift in the weight on his body. A small smile graced his lips when he realized that the young woman in his arms had put her head on his shoulder. Looking down at her to see how she was going to react when he let her know he noticed it, he realized his little witch had fallen asleep.

His smile broadened. The peaceful look on her face let her look so young. Gently, he put the book out of his hand and moved Bonnie's out of her lap. Carefully, the vampire rose and carried Bonnie to bed – his bed.

The young woman had been smarter this time. She'd known what they were going to do and came prepared in shorts and tank top. For a moment he thought about relieving Bonnie of the discomfort of her bra – just to let her sleep better –, but decided against it. No one knew what she was capable of when she'd found out about his audacity.

Putting her under the blanket, he went back to the library to tidy up and put everything to their original places. As he was walking back to his room, Damon took his time to process everything. Honestly, did that day really happen? However, he could hear Bonnie sleeping in his room verifying it had been real.

Luckily, Stefan hadn't returned and let Bonnie and him be. Damon knew sooner or later they would have to tell the others of their little group. But for now, he wanted to keep it to him and Bonnie. It was between them and didn't concern anyone else. Not yet.

And seeing how Stefan and Elena had reacted he didn't want to tell anything more about the consequences and meanings to them or anyone else. (At least until he had to get Caroline on his side again. That girl could get Bonnie to do anything.)

Quietly, he opened his door and sneaked in his room. After brushing his teeth (even as a vampire you had to take care of human needs. What would a vampire do if his fangs fell out?), he went over to his bed, ridding himself of his clothes until he was down to his boxers and climbed under the sheets to Bonnie. (Hey, she did it first.)

* * *

Slowly, Bonnie woke up. Still in the state between awake and sleep she noticed she wasn't lying on her soft pillow but on a more solid surface. Blinking a few times, the memories of last night came back to her and with them the realization what it was she was laying on: Damon's chest.

Bonnie froze.

Calming herself, Bonnie tried to move away from Damon without waking him up. Quite a challenge when her head not only was resting on his chest but his arm was around her shoulder as well. Typically Damon, even in his sleep he tried to control everyone.

Soon the little witch had to face that it was impossible to move away from a vampire without him taking notice. Their instincts and senses were too sharp and sensitive.

Blushing crimson as his penetrating eyes opened and stared into her green ones, Bonnie greeted him timidly. "Morning", Bonnie whispered with a small unsure smile.

She didn't know what to feel. Embarrassment was the most prominent, but there was a calmness she wasn't used to and irritation and uncertainty, too.

Damon, seizing the moment, squeezed the girl in his arms, calmness and happiness spreading all through his body. Holding her more tightly when Bonnie tried to leave, he gave her a mischievous grin before letting her go.

"This never happened", the witch warned him as she sat up. However, she didn't get far. His mattress was just too comfy and his sheets too warm to get up yet. Instead she laid back down and turned to face him.

The vampire rose his eyebrows at her. First, she was hell-bent on getting out of his bed and then she laid back down? Mood-swings anyone?

"So, what did Stefan want to know yesterday? Did he lecture you?" The Bennett witch inquired curiously.

"You know him. 'What did you do, where did you go, did you hurt her, what were you doing with her, stay away from her, don't hurt her, you hurt everyone, you're bad, you're guilty, the war in the Middle East is your fault, and the world hunger, and hurricanes and flash floods and forest fires. Elena was worried.' The usual", Damon told her with underlying resentment.

Bonnie's eyes widened at Damon's revelation, at Elena's name the little witch stiffened. Did Stefan really do that? Trying to bait him with Elena? Was he pushing his girlfriend into his brother's arms intentionally?!

"What did Elena demand to know?", Damon grinned at Bonnie turning on to his side to face her.

"You wanna know?", the girl asked. Damon nodded. "You really wanna know?", she smiled. Damon nodded again.

"Pretty much what we expected before. Where we have been, what is going on, where you took me, what we did, disbelieving me when I told her we were hanging out and talking, interrogating about you, guilt tripping me, you know, the usual", Bonnie threw his words back at him, grinning.

Together witch and vampire enjoyed the calmness and tranquility of the awakening hours. That was until a loud grumble of Bonnie's stomach disrupted their peace.

Bonnie's cheeks blushed while Damon murmured to her. "I get it, I get it. You want me to feed you again." Said and done. The vampire got up and went down into the kitchen.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for your reviews, PMs and adding the story or me to your following or favorite lists. I'm blown away. I really don't know what to say.

And I want to thank everyone who reviewed my one-shot. Never thought just 'being in a mood' would receive so much acknowledgment.

Vie: Told you you're basically writing my story (stories?). Thank you for your constant reviews (even to my one-shot) and nice words. And Awwww! That was my first acronym! Even I still call it 'TLK Sequel'. I haven't watched that show much but I know it and I know Urkle. God was I afraid of something like that happening to me. I was quite afraid of him and his determination. (And his German voice). But besides that, it's exactly like I see Damon doing it. Damon and his mind-tricks.

Dioranamya: First of all, thank you for your review and your nice words. I'm glad you like the story and the pace they're going. I was a bot worried of that. Thought someone (all) would yell at me for stalling.

This chapter is shorter than the last ones. But I started with the next chapter and they just don't fit. It's better to end it here and start the new one than to try to get them to harmonize. And please remember, it's fictional and they're supernatural creatures. Vampires heal immediately. Don't do this at home (or anywhere else)!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't anything of Vampire Diaries or anything else you might recognize. No infringements intended. And the mistakes aren't mine either. It's because of automatic correction and spellcheck. All of them. *looks around sheepishly*

Enjoy reading.

* * *

Chapter 15:

When Bonnie came down into the kitchen, Damon was pouring coffee into two cups and had a bowl of corn flakes waiting for her.

"Sorry but I didn't really have any time to prepare a big breakfast."

"Don't worry. I don't expect a table full of variety of breakfast every time I'll sleep here." As the meaning of what she just said sank in she back-paddled. "Not that I'm going to sleep here again. I didn't want to sleep here last night. That was by accident."

"Denial. I know you enjoy spending the night in my bed", leered Damon playfully at her. "And you're invited any time. Just don't blame me when you come over unannounced and I'm lying in my bed in all my naked glory and nothing else."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen, Salvatore."

"It wouldn't be the first time you come over unannounced", grinned the vampire.

"Once. And last night, you took advantage of me being human. That so wasn't my fault."

"Whatever. Eat up before you accuse me of starving you. Btw, I found something yesterday. I'm not sure what good it will do but it seemed as if it was talking about our problem. Wait here, I'm bringing it."

When Damon was gone, Bonnie thought about the last day. Somehow, she still couldn't believe she was spending so much time with Damon. A short time ago, they disliked and hated each other. Sure, those feelings had weakened but the fact that they had been there still lingered in the back of her mind. Such intense feelings weren't easily dismissed and overcome.

Though, setting someone on fire was a great outlet for pent-up emotions.

A great deal of her resentments had puffed out with that. And they were even.

He had tried to kill her but didn't and she had tried to kill him but didn't. Like he always claimed, that should count for something. And it did.

Damon's close-death had brought new revelations to the surface. She cared enough for him to not want to see him dead. With everything that followed and her agreement to his deal, she couldn't deny it any longer:

She, Bonnie Bennett, liked him, Damon Salvatore.

Maybe not to the extent the healing magic implied but she did like him.

Her pondering was interrupted when Damon stomped towards her. Entering the kitchen, he had seen that his little witch was lost in her thoughts and decided to make himself known so not to scare her. With anyone else it would have been quite funny to scare them and see their frightened jump or scream but he wouldn't do that to Bonnie. He preferred his brain cells undamaged, thank you very much.

"Everything alright?", asked Damon. The little witch seemed to drift off more often these days. But who was he to judge? Ever since his own revelation about his feelings (part of his feelings), he was turning more and more into Stefan. Sitting in his armchair and pondering about his life and what to do for one special girl doing nothing but brood? Definitely Stefan.

He hadn't even done that for Katherine. Oh, he'd thought about what to do for her – getting her out of the tomb – but at the same time, he'd done almost everything (blood, alcohol, girls) to distract himself. Never before had he sat on a chair wondering how to win a girl over – Bonnie or the magic (both?) had changed that.

What was drifting off a few times compared to a character alteration?

Yeah, he thought so.

"I'm good. So, what you've got?", answered the witch.

Damon smirked mischievously. "That's a … very … **loaded** question."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You know, if you didn't turn every remark into an innuendo, maybe some of the remaining ones wouldn't be that bad."

Knowing they could go on like that for hours on end, Damon decided not to take the bait. And it was a bait – antagonizing him like that, he just knew it.

"Here, this was a diary of some kid of the staff at our mansion. Back then, the staff was pretty much seen as decor and was ignored. No one bothered to keep anything secret or unsaid in their presence. They saw a lot more than anyone wanted to believe. This was the diary of an unnamed girl. It seems like she had nothing to do with magic or vampires or anything, Her explanations and descriptions are … bland.

"But she wrote about a couple and their changed behavior towards each other, about the pain being separated from each other and great passion between them", Damon wiggled his eyebrows, "I mean, sure, it's possible it's just romantic rubbish of a sappy teenage girl who dreamed of great passion, undying love and soul mates but it's also possible she's talking about our magic."

Listening carefully to the vampire, Bonnie took the notebook out of his hands and read over the particular passage. Damon was right, it was vague but it was quite possible the maid had written about the 'True Love's Kiss' without realizing what really was going on. The content was scary. If the girl's words were true, the pain was about to become bad. The girl's descriptions turned into a horror story.

Then, however, Bonnie noticed something. There were a few lines added in another script. Obviously, the other person had known more about magic. The other person put the story in perspective. Bonnie read:

oOoOoO

Magic is never to be disregarded. Magic is a serious matter and not to be played with. Magic does not do anything without reason and the couple was warned before hand. They were given signs but chose to ignore them. They were bound together – there was not more. Magic does not force but lets choose.

oOoOoO

Bonnie snorted. After everything she had experienced and went through in the last year it was difficult to believe that magic didn't force anyone into anything. But it seemed a witch had lightened the girl's thoughts and frights without revealing herself in person.

oOoOoO

Soon, they will see that the bond that was forged between both is not a grudge but a blessing. It will fade.

oOoOoO

Did that mean it would go away on its own? If that was true, was there no way around the pain? Had they to go through it before it got better?

_Urgh! Why does everything that deals with witches and magic have to be so clichéd?_

"What do you think?" A voice shook her out of her thoughts.

Looking up, Bonnie saw Damon standing close waiting for her opinion. "It seems legit. But what does it mean for us? There's a part in another hand, did you see it? Did you read it?"

At her questions, Damon rose his eyebrows expectantly. "Vampire here, remember?"

"Ya, ya. Don't have to be like that", the witch muttered. "Vampire or not, you still haven't answered my question."

"You're the witch here. If it's about detecting something, smell or sound or visual, I'm your guy. If it's about maiming and getting information, I'm your guy. If it's about blood sampling or detecting or placing, come to me. But magic and hocus-pocus and grudges and all that, you're the expert."

Bonnie didn't know if she was flattered that he called her an expert and had that much trust in her or if she was offended by his mightier than you antics.

"Don't give me that bullshit. You, not wanting to give your two cents to anything and everything – that's a first. We're both part of this whole mess. I already told you I have no clue what's going on and what's going to happen. I just don't know it. All we can do is, as much as I hate to say it, brainstorm and think about different possibilities and their outcomes." The teenager was at her wit's end.

With a sigh, the vampire gave in. "I know. But there's nothing we can do about that right now. So, let's forget it for now and have some fun." Damon grinned.

"Maybe that works when you have forever but I can't wait that long." Bonnie was frustrated. She hated losing control and just drifting. She needed to do something; her patience was running short.

"No, but what else are we supposed to do? Any ideas? No? Me neither. We can't do anything about it now. We have to see how it goes. In the meantime, let's just enjoy each other's company", the vampire grinned.

The withering glare the witch sent his way had him shut up for a moment before his grin widened. "Get your mind out of the gutter, witch."

"Uh-huh. Sure, it's me with the perverted thoughts. Jerk", Bonnie mumbled, making sure to speak clearly enough for him to understand.

Softening his former words with a gentle nudge at her arm, Bonnie couldn't fight a small smile. Some part of her hated herself for acting like such a typical clichéd teenager – it was like she was out of a Taylor Swift song – but another part, a bigger part, of her enjoyed the feeling of content and happiness.

There had to be good things too after the horrors they'd lived through and those about to come.

"So, what have you planned for today?" Damon asked into the silence while Bonnie ate her breakfast.

Finishing chewing Bonnie thought about it. "I'm not sure. I mean it's summer and school is over. Probably actually doing what I had planned to do yesterday after the shopping trip before you kidnapped me." Bonnie grinned. "Nothing special. Just lying in the sun and enjoying the heat and relaxation. Having a nice, lazy day."

"Sounds nice", Damon commented absentmindedly.

A short while later, Bonnie had finished her breakfast and Damon was driving her home.

Sitting in the car, Bonnie suddenly realized something. "How com you haven't eaten all day?"

Surprised, Damon took his eyes off the road and glanced at her. "You're offering?"

"No, not that. I didn't mean blood. But yesterday in the diner and this morning it was only me eating something and you sticking to coffee. Twice. I've seen Caroline and Stefan eat. And boy, does Caroline eat now that she doesn't put on weight", Bonnie finished her thought out loud.

"Hey, not everyone can eat breakfast, a snack, lunch, coffee and pie, dinner and a snack. I do eat. The breakfast I made you at your house; we shared it. And a lot of people don't have breakfast. A hot cup of coffee is more than enough."

"Just because Caroline is catching up on the calories she should have eaten in her 17 years of human life doesn't mean all of us have to do that."

Bonnie wanted to reprimand him, wanted to defend her best friend, however, as soon as she opened her mouth to say something, she shut it again. He was right after all. Caroline had always cared for her weight. Ever since she'd hit puberty she started to be careful what she ate, watching her size. If it wasn't for style and fashion, it was for cheerleading.

The little witch had never understood her friend in that regard. Sure, it wasn't like she only ate fast and junk food or didn't watch her eating but when there was a tub of Ben&Jerry's calling her name, she indulged in it. Or going to the movies without popcorn? Not for her.

One thing didn't mean necessarily the other.

"Do you even taste what you're eating? Or drinking for that matter? All the strong alcohol you're downing, doesn't it sting your throat?" Bonnie wondered.

Damon thought about her words for a few moments. "You know how it is when there's a meal you don't really like but you don't dislike it either. It's like that. Like when there's this dish you love but the spices are missing. Only our spice is solely blood."

That was way more info than Bonnie had ever wanted. She knew he was a vampire and she knew they not only drank blood but depended on it. She even came somehow to terms with it. However, she didn't like to be reminded of it. Ignorance was a bliss sometimes.

"Judgey, you're a witch. We've just looked through all those grimoires. You can't tell me you haven't seen all those spells and potions you need hair and **blood **for. You even did spells you needed blood for before."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. I like to pretend I don't know", Bonnie sighed.

The vampire had to give her that. Sometimes he wished he would still possess the innocence to pretend nothing of this mess, his life, was real. However, it was easier to mask it with a smirk and a glint in his eyes. Let people believe what they wanted (most of the time at least when he didn't compel them).

"Fair enough."

With his last words the car fell back into silence until they reached Bonnie's home a few minutes later – this time without any unwanted visitor.

"See you", the witch said as she left Damon's car. This time she hadn't her heavy bags with her. It had been an unexpressed mutual decision to leave the books and grimoires at the Boarding House. If anything was going to happen, they would have a look through the books together again.

"Yeah, you too."

With those departing words, Damon drove back to the Boarding House.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **First of all I'M SOO SORRY! I have a few excuses (extra hours at work, business travels...) but most importantly I was just stuck on that chapter. I started it a few times over and corrected it again and again and again but still, the sentences were incomplete, thoughts I started were left hanging … . I'm sorry.

And though I started on chapter 17 I can't make any promises there either because I'm moving – across the whole country (or across the state if you're from Texas ^^). Why I had to do that? Ya, I wish I knew.

Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed or added the story or me to their following or favorites lists. I really, really, really appreciate it. I hope you're continuing giving me your support. I'm sorry for not responding individually to your reviews this time. I try to be better for the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **The Vampire Diaries and everything connected with it belongs to their rightful owners (if there was any doubt left – not me). I'm not making any money with it (that would be considered a useful hobby – earning money doing your hobby – eew!). Just righting a few (a lot) wrongs. And neither do I own anything else you might recognize – I see it more like free advertizing and promo.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16:

As soon as Bonnie had entered her home she closed the door behind her. Holding her breath, she sagged against the closed door and sighed. It was all too much. This whole weekend, the last 24 hours, damn, her whole holidays even, had been too much.

Just until a year ago, her life had been alright. Sure, her mother had been dead (at least as far Bonnie was concerned) and her father had never been around. But it had been okay. Like Whitney once had said 'It's not right but it's okay'. She had been happy.

She'd had all the family she'd needed around her. Grams hadn't just been her grandma and a motherly figure for her, she'd been her companion, her confidant, her familiar, her go-to-person when life got too tough.

Then, there'd been the ever-present Sheriff Forbes and even though she'd been intimidating as all hell to the little girl, she'd been a constant fixture and a massive rock in her life. If there'd been any trouble, Sheriff Forbes could handle it. There'd been **nothing** out there the intense woman couldn't defy.

And last but not least, there'd been Elena's parents. Every time Bonnie had visited the Gilberts it had been as if she'd been part of the family. The Gilbert household was the only original, traditional family and family life Bonnie had ever known.

Another important constant had been her sisters, Elena and Caroline. Ever since kindergarten they'd grown up and gone through all different kinds of problems together. Stuck together when Elena didn't get a pink bicycle like she wanted for her sixth birthday but a green one, when Caroline's father had left her mother, when their first crush had still thought that girls had cooties, when school had been too demanding or a beloved pet had died. They'd bonded over their troubles and had come out stronger. They'd been a unified front against every and any harm in the world.

All that had changed with the last summer.

Suddenly, the only traditional family she'd ever known was no longer, the only warm, welcoming parents she'd ever had were gone. Her best friend, her sister was never to be the same after their loss. The appearance of Stefan and in his wake Damon only had let them drift further apart.

At the same time, her powers had started to manifest themselves. At a moment's notice, she'd had to keep herself and her emotions in check, she'd had to stop fires from going off anywhere and juggle all those things with her everyday life, entertain her best friend and save her friends from themselves. To top it all off, her grams had begun to drill her.

Her life had changed – sadly, not for the better.

With Caroline's turning, she had lost everything she once had.

The last straw had been her failed attempt at holding on to normalcy with a 'boring', non-supernatural relationship with a normal, ordinary guy. But then Damon had to come and mess it up. Now, she wasn't just a witch with a messed up life but she was the (supposed) soul mate of a psychotic vampire.

And there was no one there to talk to.

Bonnie sighed again, thumping her head a few times against the front door.

Getting a grip on herself, the girl made her way up to her room and jumped onto her bed. She wasn't yet up for more than an hour but she was already exhausted – all thanks to Damon.

After a few cozy moments in her bed thinking about nothing for once and snuggling into her blanket, Bonnie turned herself over in her bed and was now staring at the ceiling of her room. Sometimes she wished she could just lay here and forget everything around her: her father, her messed up life, her powers, the supernatural world, the tense situation with her once best friends, her grams' death, everything.

Self-pity, however, wasn't an option.

Shutting her eyes tightly, Bonnie sat up. She'd wanted to enjoy this day and whining wasn't going to accomplish that. The girl rose from her bed and grabbed for her mp3-player before going into the bathroom in search of sunscreen. _Protection's important. _Bonnie blushed. _Damn girl. Get a grip. You start to sound like a twelve-year-old. Blushing at stupid puns._

Bonnie put the things she was going to need onto her desk before she attended to the task of finding her bikini. Okay, bikini**s**. Even though she had complained about them yesterday, she loved bikinis – it was only trying them on in the bright-lit shops she hated.

_So, which one to wear? _Few minutes passed by before the witch admitted that this decision would depend on which bikini she'd found first. Tossing a red bikini bottom onto her bed and a green one and a dark blue one, a aquamarine bikini top and a white monokini (a gift from Caroline) Bonnie found both parts of her light yellow triangle bikini. She'd almost forgotten she had that one – what had she'd been thinking buying it? Such a light color was bound to get transparent when wet; no amount of lining could prevent that. But for lying in the sun, soaking in every ounce of light and warmth she could get, the yellow bikini was great.

Deciding on that bikini, the witch put it on. In the shadows in the house the bikini was a bit cool but the bright sunshine outside promised to remedy that. Trying to carry as much as possible in her arms, Bonnie descended the stairs, walked into the living room and fumbled with the knob of the french doors to open them up to their backyard. A few unsuccessful tries later, the girl admitted defeat and put some of the items onto the couch in the living room. She'd have to go a second time anyway.

As soon as Bonnie stepped into the rays of the sun, a huge smile spread across her face. She loved the feeling the warmth caused in her body. Walking over to the cot Bonnie put her book, her mp3-player and the sunscreen on to the small table which separated two sun loungers.

With a heavy sigh, the girl stood up straight again holding her face into the warming sun and stretched her back. She loved days like this – even more so when she was out of school. Returning to reality, the witch went back in to get the rest of the 'needed' items.

Retrieving a glass and a pitcher of lemonade (bought, not home-made, honestly, what more was she supposed to do?) out of the kitchen as well as her shades and CD player from the living room where she had deposited them earlier on the couch, Bonnie made her second trip into their backyard – forced to leave glass and drink behind if she didn't want to risk falling and so spilling and breaking everything.

The difficulty came after that. Where had her father stashed those batteries to go into her CD- player? She was a witch but she didn't want to waste her energy on creating electricity to hear some music. And running an extension cable into the yard was way too cumbersome.

After an unsuccessful search, the little witch decided to use her magic. She might not have wanted to waste her energy for some entertainment she could easily get another way, but that didn't mean she couldn't do a small finding spell. There had to be some perks in being a witch!

When she had everything she needed cradled in her arms (leaving glass and lemonade once again behind), she went back to the small table next to the lounger and put the items on it, before she finally got the lemonade and her glass. Hopefully that was the last trip she had to do.

"Damn it!" Bonnie cussed.

The small table was crowded with all the things Bonnie had brought out. Placing the CD-player beneath the table and rearranging the items on it, Bonnie was finally done, laid herself onto one of the sun loungers and sighed deeply.

_Was about time._

Moments passed in silence while Bonnie enjoyed the sun, the warmth and all the peaceful noises surrounding her and just … relaxed.

After a few moments of quiet peacefulness, the girl leaned herself over and reached for both of her players. Connecting them with each other, Bonnie searched for the perfect soundtrack to her afternoon. Pop music seemed to do the trick.

Shallow, vacuous songs with an easy going beat always brightened her mood. Lying back down, Bonnie inhaled and exhaled deeply and sank into the soft cloth of the lounger.

At least she tried to.

Somehow it was impossible for her to stay still. Every few seconds she changed her position – quite a fee on the small and narrow cot. Whatever she did nothing seemed to be of any use, relaxation just wouldn't come to her.

When the craved peace didn't come after almost an hour, the teenage girl looked at the time on her mp3-player. Only ten minutes had passed. _Huh, I would have sworn it was longer than that._

Not one to give in easily, Bonnie forced her body to stay put for a little while longer. She had wanted to do this yesterday already but couldn't, she wouldn't allow it to happen again. Bonnie was determined to have her day of relaxation and sun – and **today!**

Moving for a few more minutes, the little witch managed to drift off after a while. With a deep sigh she gave into the restful trance which took a hold of her while joyful beats were sounding from the speakers.

* * *

In front of Bonnie's house was at the same time an all too familiar becoming picture enfolding itself.

After he'd brought Bonnie home, Damon had driven back to the Boarding House just to find it empty once again. Sure, most of the time he preferred his solitude and was glad when no one disturbed his peace. However, a manor house like the Salvatores' wasn't meant for one person. _Why else does Hugh Hefner always have company? I've never seen him alone in his mansion._

Even when it had been built, it'd been meant for a huge family with a bunch of kids and lots of servants buzzing in and out and all around. Especially after Bonnie had wanted to leave, the silence was louder than ever before. And it was driving him nuts!

He couldn't stay there. Not now, not alone. He was that close to trashing his room, any room, in this grave. Shortly after he'd walked in, Damon walked out of the Salvatore house again and got back into his Camaro. Driving around the town the vampire tried to get out of the funk he was in and his thoughts back into order.

Life had been so much easier when he'd just drunk, drunk and seduced. When someone tried to f#ck with him, he'd reacted in kind and dealt with it. His only enemy had been witches – and he'd either seduced them or stayed far away. Easy as that.

There had been nothing else out there. No werewolves, no originals, no hybrids. What was a mere human to do to him? - That's what he thought.

Coming back to Mystic Falls really did a number on him. Suddenly there had been a lot more people in his life – one of them his brother. Damon hadn't known how to treat him – was it 'his brother' something akin to a curse? Or was it 'his little brother' who he no matter what would always protect, who know one but him had the right to bad mouth?

He'd tried to synchronize his easy-going life with the ghosts of his past who'd awaited him in Mystic Falls. Least to say he hadn't been too successful in doing that. Several dead bodies had made him into the bad guy. He'd been right where he'd begun all those years ago. He'd even been in the same town.

Same town, same place, same girl, same enforced part. Role?

Only three things had been different this time around: (1) his father wasn't anymore, _not a big loss, _(2) the relationship to his brother was barely there,_ it was once so strong, _they used to be so close, (3) Bonnie was more fun to aggravate than Emily had ever been.

With a sudden jolt of clarity, Damon saw that he'd been drifting aimlessly for the last 2 years. He'd played the part everyone else had thought him to be and had started to identify himself with it. However, he'd lost himself along the way.

_Huh_.The peacefulness he'd hoped would come out of his aimless driving never came. Instead his thoughts were quite depressing. He needed a drink. At least at the Mystic Grill it was quite the chance to find Alaric there. If the history teacher wasn't at school, he spent most of his time at the bar.

Taking a look at his surroundings, the vampire realized that he was close to Bonnie's home. Before he could comprehend what he was doing, he'd driven up to the Bennett home, parked his car and had gotten out of the vehicle. He didn't get far.

_What am I am I doing? _Damon couldn't understand what he was doing. He hated it when girls got all clingy after just one night and here he was doing exactly the same and they hadn't even done anything (yet).

Discussing and fighting with himself, Damon came to the conclusion that now that he was here he couldn't just go without bothering the teenage witch for a bit. _Or you're getting obsessive all over again. _"Shut up." _You know that I'm right – or is it you?_ Taunted his voice inside his head. It was time, he was losing it.

Deeply lost in his mind, the vampire already stood in front of the door before he realized that his little witch wasn't in there. Panicking he tried to think logically. Who could have her? "Klaus", growled Damon. _If that piece of shit did anything to _

His depressive mood and anger were suddenly interrupted by a sigh. It wasn't his. It was a female who'd sighed. When he'd gotten himself under control, it became clear that the noise had come from the back yard. Concentrating on the noises in the Bennett garden, Damon recognized the person as Bonnie. She wasn't kidnapped but sunning – precisely as she had said earlier. The shock that had taken a hold of him slowly eased its claws on him.

Her quiet breaths and low rustling when she moved, the breeze which gently stroked her skin, her heartbeat. The blood that was running through her veins. Sweet noises.

God, was he glad that neither witch nor vampire could easily read one's mind.

After looking out for Bonnie for a while – that was exactly what he was doing if she asked. He wasn't ogling her, honestly –, he had to do something. Lurking in the shadows and watching the girl from afar was totally his brother – stalker much? And the little witch called him a pervert.

Soft-footed, Damon sneaked upon the finally peacefully resting girl. Placing himself so that his shadow fell right over her body, he couldn't help but smirk evilly.

With a jolt Bonnie opened her eyes. Suddenly the sun was gone and it was getting cool. A presence was close to her, someone with an aura of danger and death but safety and comfort at the same time. As her conscious thoughts returned, the girl was able to place the strange feeling: Damon Salvatore.

_What is he doing here? _When Bonnie opened her eyes, their gazes connected, witch and vampire only staring at one another for a few moments.

"What are you doing here?" Once again he'd managed to rattle up her emotions. She was irritated with him for stealing her sun and putting a damper to her plans. On the other hand, however, the feeling of safety and bliss she always got from him ever since that dreadful day brought her its own kind of relaxation. She hated to admit it but it was like she could only truly relax when Damon was with her. The night she had spent in his bed had been the best sleep ever since … ever since before the death of Elena's parents.

She was just finding back to herself.

"Hmm, let's see. Being somewhere and doing some stuff or being here with you seeing you basically naked, tossing and turning in the sun, taking deep breaths and sighing?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. Yep, she shouldn't have asked. However, she didn't want to give in, she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Fighting every Fiber of her being the witch refused to lift her arms in front of her chest and cross her legs. Best way to deal with Damon was to ignore him when he had his 5 minutes until he was done being a jerk.

"Now, raise your arms and untie the strings of your bikini top."

Or not.

The glint in her eyes that followed his suggestion shot a jolt of anticipation through his body. Bonnie had enough. _If you can't win this little match by ignoring him, then beat him at his own game._

Raising herself up on her arms, the girl stretched her back and tilted her head back. Putting her legs up a bit she only let her knees touch each other and groaned his name. "Damon … – Quit it. Not even with compulsion is that going to happen", Bonnie told him resolutely.

"My bad. It was worth a shot", grinned the vampire.

The girl rolled her eyes once again at him, now lying comfortably back down on the lounger again. "What do you want?", she asked again.

"How about a glass of home-made lemonade?"

"I'd say go right ahead. Have fun making it. I'd like a glass, too", the witch quipped.

"Little girl don't get smart with me", Damon joked.

"Old man stop sounding like a grandpa."

"Grandpa? Grandpa – really? I'll show you grandpa." At her words the vampire felt challenged. In the blink of an eye Damon was standing next to the sun loungers in front of Bonnie and lifted his shirt. _What grandpa has a body like mine? Witch, please._

Bonnie's hormones were raising. Damon was hot, there was no denying that (not convincingly at least) and without a shirt Bonnie had a hard time to stop drooling and picturing him with even less clothes on.

With great willpower the witch came back to the here and now just when Damon was about to pull his pants off.

"Hold it. What do you think you're doing?" The witch demanded to know while stopping Damon in his tracks.

"Tanning. What does it look like?"

"And why do you have to undress for that?"

_Duh._ His glance said it all. "I don't know. Why do **you** have to lay there in less than your usual underwear? What do they teach you kids in school nowadays? I want a tan, how am I supposed to get one with jeans on?"

"You're a vampire. The only time your skin darkens is when you're parched or burning to crisps", deadpanned the little witch. "But that's not what I meant. Your pants and open zipper are low enough for me to see that you're not wearing any underwear. And if you even do as much as think about obtaining a tan without tanning lines than I'm going to set your wick aflame."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Oh well, who am I kidding? I did dream about it but I wouldn't do it", Damon stated innocently. It was plainly obvious that he was lying.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked again. She was tired of repeating herself but if she wasn't persistent, he was going to remain elusive. However, she wanted to go back to her peaceful afternoon. With Damon being in her close proximity it wasn't going to happen.

"I was bored", Damon admitted and sat himself onto the second sun lounger. "Besides, you owe me one." At Bonnie's raised eyebrows he continued. "For drooling all over me. You know when I said I like it when women drool over me, it wasn't meant literally. But you totally fell asleep on me last night – with your mouth wide open." Damon grinned.

"That so didn't happen. I don't drool. Least of all over you. Regardless if I'm awake or asleep. Besides, you're a vampire, a creature of the night and a player, you're best friends with other, nastier body fluids than saliva", Bonnie defended herself.

Damon had a lot of things he wanted to say to her last remark but for the sake of peacekeeping he resisted. He bloody well knew that any responds to that would become very disgusting very fast. For a few minutes vampire and witch just laid there in the sun though only one of them could enjoy the feeling of it. As a vampire, Damon didn't feel the sun – or the warmth of the sun that is. All he knew was that his senses started to tickle like flimsy, meek electric jolts. The calmness the little witch got from the warmth was lost to him.

"What did you do today?" Damon broke the silence after a few minutes. Silence gave him time to think, to wonder, to **dream**. It never had gotten him far.

Bonnie rose her eyebrows. _Is he for real? _The expectant look he shot her told her, yes, yes he was. He was definitely losing his mind.

"You do remember that I slept at your house last night, don't you? That you made breakfast for us and drove me home afterwards? And just when I'm home and about to doze off you're back again. What do you think I did? Bungee-jumping? And then sleep because that's an everyday occurrence and my body is used to huge amounts of adrenalin pumping through my veins and it doesn't affect me anymore?"

"I was just asking. Don't jump down my throat", Damon pacified. Intentionally or not, Damon's answer made Bonnie feel guilty. He was right. For once he was behaving like a human being and didn't threat to kill someone in every other sentence and here she was shutting him down, provoking him, ignoring him. Nevertheless, he was still there – with her.

"Damon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to … I … Look, honestly, I have no idea how to handle our new-found friendship or whatever this is. It's **strange**. I'm trying to cope here and I know you're doing the same but I can't just go from ignoring each other to easy-going conversations 24/7. I don't know how to", Bonnie told him the truth – she owed him that much.

The vampire knew what she meant, he understood her. They were similar in a lot of things – that was why he appreciated her apology and explanation: He knew how difficult it had to be for her to other those words. Because both of them dealt with their emotions by ignoring them until it was all too much and someone was hurt.

Another few minutes passed in comfortable silence between the two supernaturals until the blaring of 'Best Friend' by S Club 7 disrupted their peace. Elena was calling.

* * *

**A/N:** Totally showed my age in that chapter, didn't I? If you don't know S Club 7 (or S Club later on) listen to their songs. The one mentioned isn't one of my favorites but the lyrics are fitting to the T, so there.

See you next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting. I never intended to be gone this long. But like most of you know Real Life got into my way (still organizing my move, new job, long hours and working on weekends, trying to form some kind of common ground with my new roomie...). I try to be better but it depends on my job.

Vie: You're too much! Really didn't think there were others out there who still knew S Club 7. Yep, Bradley was my favorite too. More Bamon coming up. Thank you for all your reviews!

* * *

Chapter 17

"Hey 'Lena, what's up?" Bonnie answered her phone.

"Uh … nothing much. That's why I thought we could all meet up at the Grill tonight? Just … 'be', you know", Elena asked her best friend.

"Uhm … I'm not sure. Who do you mean when you say 'we all'?" Bonnie questioned. She really didn't want to see Jeremy. His mood swings were more exhausting than Damon's. First he was pursuing her until she was flattered and gave in – she had liked him well enough –, then he threw her away because she's **helping** someone (little attention seeker couldn't handle it when their was some other company) and in the last few days he was texting her frequently. (What didn't he get when she didn't respond to any of his messages?) She really, really, really didn't want to spend a night with him around.

Elena, however, misinterpreted her reluctance. "Uh … just you, me, Caroline, Tyler, Stefan and … uhm … if anyone can get a hold of him … uh … Damon", the brunette revealed hesitantly.

"I'm game. Count me in." Elena was surprised by Bonnie's quick agreement. She'd been afraid a lot of pleading would have to be done. All the better now.

"Okay. Six pm at the Grill, what do you say?"

"Sounds good. See you later 'Lena. Take care. Bye."

"You too. Bye Bonnie." And the girls hung up.

"So, that was Elena", Bonnie said, pretending as if Damon hadn't heard both sides of their conversation. "She wants us to meet at the Grill this evening."

Damon indulged her and didn't point out to her that he not only knew what Elena wanted and said but also where she was at the moment (at her home, in the kitchen with Stefan, cooking dinner for her and Jeremy who was listening to music – probably in his room).

"You're coming?" Bonnie inquired.

For a moment the vampire was startled. Did she really just ask him if he wanted to come along? He knew they'd agreed on being friends and spending time together both in private as well as in public. But until then it had always been his doing. It had always been him to start something – never her.

"Sure. You know me. Never refusing some time in a bar", Damon grinned.

Bonnie rolled her eyes – again. She'd never been one to roll her eyes until Damon Salvatore had come into town. Ever since, it seemed to have become a bad habit of her. Guys!

Looking at the time she saw it was late afternoon already. It was past 4 pm. The girl sighed. That much to her easy-going, relaxing, boring afternoon. "I better start to get ready." Skeptically, Damon rose his eyebrows.

"What?! I have to get everything indoors again, take a shower, apply some make-up and dress. It's only the Mystic Grill but that doesn't mean I have to look like a slob" the girl defended herself.

"Admit it. You want to look good for me", the vampire smirked.

"Yes Damon. You got me. That's exactly why I always dress in those skimpy little dresses ...", Bonnie replied sarcastically. Gathering up the items on the table (or the first charge), Bonnie went to put everything away again. Before all the items in her arms were stashed away, Damon stood in front of her, brushing his hands. "Done."

Fighting a smile, Bonnie shook her head. "Show-off." A devious grin was his only answer.

For a few moments witch and vampire stood facing each other in silence, neither one knowing what to say. "So, are you going home first or are you waiting for me?" Bonnie asked shyly. As soon as the words had left her mouth, the girl regretted asking. Why had she to voice it like that? Why had she to open her mouth in the first place? The fate of forever was looming over them (in his case literally) and she had to ask him if he waited for her?! _Way to go, Bonnie, way to go._

Surprised, Damon looked at her. "I'm waiting. Just get naked, I'll stay close." His defense mechanism (empty remarks and innuendos) kicking in. The girl nodded. "Don't you dare and come barging into the bathroom", she threatened. Now it was the vampire's turn to nod before his supposed soul mate vanished up the stairs. Even though he would have loved to see her in all her glory, he knew that the little witch wouldn't forgive him. He knew with whom he could do such things (Katherine) or could get away with it (Elena) and when to restrain himself.

Aimlessly, the vampire wandered through the living room. Pictures of Bonnie, of Bonnie with her grams, her dad, Elena and Caroline and with a few other people he supposed were relatives of her were plastered all over the room. Only one picture showed a young Bonnie (probably about 3 or 4 years old) on a set of swings laughing happily with a young woman in her late twenties. _Her late mother_, Damon guessed. That was one thing Giuseppe and Bonnie's father had in common: both banished everything of their wives after their deaths. Not even pictures were allowed.

It did upset him that Bonnie had almost nothing to keep the memory of her mother alive – though he would deny it. Over the course of the last year he'd come to the realization that the Bennett witch and he had a lot in common. Even their behavior and reactions – as different as they often might have seemed.

Lost in his thoughts, Damon didn't hear Bonnie return into the living room. "Oh god. Please don't look too closely at those. Some trends weren't that good for me."

Damon startled. But as much as he tried to play it off, nothing came to mind – he'd gone completely blank. It was a great sight to behold and the little witch had a hard time fighting the smile that was about to break out.

Scrutinizing her from head to toe, the vampire had trouble to stay focused. Her usually dark brown hair was black from the wetness of the water, a few droplets falling to the ground wherever the witch stood. Shorts and a tank top – both black – completed her outfit.

"I still need to dress and do my make up. But I didn't trust you all alone in my house for so long", Bonnie grinned. "Follow me." With those words, Bonnie turned around and went back upstairs to her room, leaving Damon with nothing to do but to do as he was told. Bore himself he could do everywhere else.

When Damon entered her room, the little witch was brushing her still wet hair. For a moment, he just stood there. The sight in front of him was so **normal **that the vampire was baffled for a short while. He'd seen her doing magic, he'd seen her powerful, fierce and full of passion, he'd seen her sad, angry, furious and ready to do whatever was needed. But the scene in front of him was … innocent …. oblivious … he didn't really know. What he knew, however, was that it seemed as if the little firecracker was starting to let her guard down around him. _I knew she couldn't resist my charm._

"What?" Bonnie asked giving him a funny look. "Is something wrong? You know, you can sit down. I still haven't drowned my sheets and pillows in vervain."

"You'll never know with a witch", Damon answered. A single glance showed him who was responsible for decorating the Bennett living room. On one wall was a showcase of pictures of all stages of Bonnie's life, the pin board on the other side showed a collection of postcards, concert-tickets and past events. Instead of the chaos those knick-knacks usually created, Bonnie's room was neatly. The clobber didn't change anything.

And the small smile on Bonnie's lips while she continued to brush her hair was … inviting. Her whole demeanor was – open.

Forcing himself to stop acting like some wuss, Damon finally walked into the room and over to Bonnie's bed. "You know you can brush your hair all you want but it won't get any longer nor shinier", Damon said while sitting down.

"That's what you think. I once heard a story about an enchanted brush which sprinkle golden powder over your hair and made it all shiny", Bonnie sassed laying her brush back down on her dresser before walking over to her closet.

Forlorn, Bonnie looked into her closet. She wasn't as picky as Caroline but that didn't mean she didn't care about her looks. There was an in-between between those fashion-victims and slobs. "You need help picking out your clothes? I'd love to go through your underwear", Damon provoked her.

Irritated, Bonnie grabbed for the next jeans she got in her hands and a blouse that was hanging on a coat hanger. That would have to do. She really couldn't stand Damon's suggestions anymore. "I'm good. I've dressed myself for more than ten years."

"That explains a lot", Damon answered.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Bonnie demanded to know.

"Nothing … just that … you dress as modest as a grandma. Most mothers in this town are wearing more revealing and figure hugging clothes than you are", Damon grinned. Bonnie was cute when she was all flustered and angry.

"Humph. First of all, I don't care what you think about my style. Secondly, I'm my own person I don't have to try to be someone else – especially someone in this town. Thirdly, too late. I already picked my clothes. You won't influence my decision. Ha!" As soon as the first shock and anger at his words were gone, Bonnie had figured him out. _Provoking me to prove him wrong. He won't get to see anymore cleavage from me. Jerk! _The little witch was smug.

Damon grinned at her. His little witch did know him pretty good. Didn't matter how much she wanted to deny it – there was a connection between them. "Just get ready."

"Ya, ya. I'm going, I'm going. I go changing, wait here. And don't touch anything. Stay away from my drawers", the girl threatened.

Few minutes later, Bonnie emerged from the bathroom and went back into her room, now dressed in dark blue skinny jeans and a blouse in olive-green. When Bonnie had seen what she'd picked for the day, she cursed but she refused to give Damon the satisfaction of walking back into her room to chose other clothes. She **refused to**.

At seeing her, Damon gave her a breathtaking smile which spread across his whole face. "Don't. say. a. word. I had them in my hands before you said anything about my granny-style", the witch threatened him.

"I didn't say anything." Damon rose his hands innocently. "But – that's what I'm talking about."

"Honestly, you'd think I'd walk around in ankle-long, hip-high skirts and blouses you can hide several different layers underneath. Sheesh", Bonnie said exasperated.

"Hey, someone needs to be honest with you. I mean I'm telling you all that from an innocent bystander kind of view. I'm not one of your girl friends who are in competition with you. I only want what's best for you and not to out-stand you", Damon told her with false-seriousness.

Bonnie once again rolled her eyes. It was just like him because Mr. Salvatore knew it all – or thought so anyway. With a shake of her head Bonnie got her mascara and started to apply it. Some of his idiotic remarks didn't deserve any response.

Damon watched the girl. It was funny observing her while she put on mascara. Her eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets and her mouth was twisted.

"Could you stop that. It's irritating", Bonnie snapped at him. The vampire only grinned at her. God, it was hilarious. She got furious so easily.

His real treat came when Bonnie put some nude lip gloss on. Her mouth opened slightly when she put the first coat of gloss on before pouting to fill her lips – Bonnie herself being completely oblivious to the sight she was portraying. Damon shook his head. The Bennett girl was a walking contradiction. So fierce and passionate, insightful and knowing but at the same time so innocent and blissful unaware.

Honestly, Damon couldn't believe what he was thinking. Not the sexual thoughts because quite honest those weren't new to him but about putting lip gloss on?! Seriously?! He could get the mascara thing because it really did something for her eyes but some sticky coat that would leave a nasty film on his lips and skin while kissing? Hell no! But as he had had to realize more often than not those last few days the little witch was his one exception.

"Ready to go?" Bonnie asked. The vampire just returned out of his thoughts as the girl smacked her lips. What was it that had girls smacking their lips after applying lip gloss? Did they like the sticky feeling when their lips stuck together for a short moment or did they taste the flavor? Ignoring his random thoughts Damon focused on his little witch again. "Ready when you are."

"I'm good to go", the girl answered and grabbed for her purse. _Or is it a travel bag?_ Damon wondered as he was leaving the room right behind her. Together they left the house. "Where are you going?" Damon inquired when Bonnie made no move to follow him to his car but went to her Prius instead.

"I won't ask you over later. This way I'm securing my ride back home."

Exasperate Damon shook his head. _Girls!_ The look he shot her had her hesitating. "I'll drive you back and I'll even behave. I promise not to do anything I do on a usual date at the end. Or not the end. The middle?" His tactic of talking until the witch gave in and got into his car worked.

"Uh! I hold you to it.", Bonnie informed him while getting into his car. Especially after the last days she knew he kept his word – bent it maybe, but not break it.

Their drive to the Mystic Grill was quiet. The only noise was the radio playing lowly in the background. It was weird for Bonnie sitting in Damon's car. For the first time driving in his Camaro they were heading for the town center. A lot of eyes were on them, men appreciating the muscle car, women drooling over the driver or sizing up the girl sitting next to him. Sure, Bonnie had known how to enjoy herself and was used to stares – she might not be Elena or Caroline but that didn't mean she'd never gotten any attention – but this, this was a whole new level of crazy.

_Is it always like that for him?_

Before she knew it, Damon and her were in front of the Mystic Grill and Damon parked his Camaro. Bonnie hurried to get out of the car. It already seemed too much like a date as it was the last thing she needed was him opening the door for her. Together, they made their way to the entrance.

Just as the witch had opened the front door and Damon was grabbing over her head to keep it open, the Grill got eerily quiet and all eyes were turned onto witch and vampire. At least, that was how Bonnie felt. In all honesty, time didn't stop and besides of a few glances from other patrons the only ones staring at their entrance were their friends.

_Just my luck. When are Elena or Caroline ever on time?_ With a sigh Bonnie went towards the unbelievable expressions of their 'dream couple' and the joyous smile of Caroline.

* * *

It felt great. Damon couldn't get enough of Elena's expression. What he had told his brother was true he didn't care for Elena anymore, not like that, nevertheless, it felt great to show her that he didn't depend on her any longer. He hoped that the doppelganger had gotten the message and that his brother had told her what he'd said but knowing Stefan he didn't. His actions, however, should speak for themselves and give her a clue. Pretending to breath was suddenly a lot easier; it felt like a huge weight fell away from constricting his heart.

Facing Elena without the feeling of doom looming all around him was a feeling the older brother had never believed of. But now that it was there, he couldn't understand what had taken so long for him to come to terms with **everything** and be open for something … not new … something better.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it. What took you so long?" Caroline asked raising her eyebrows suggestively. Damon only smirked in response. It was nice to have someone else in your corner – although he was aware that the blonde's loyalty was with Bonnie and with him only be default. Her opinion could change any minute if she decided he'd only be bad news for the witch. She'd even said so herself.

At the risk of pissing off Bonnie he played along. "We had to get dressed first", he informed their friends.

The shock registering on Stefan's and Elena's faces was priceless and well worth the smack Bonnie gave him. He was surprised she didn't give him an aneurism like usual but instead a smack to the arm she well knew didn't do any damage. Seemed like he really did grow on her. Damon felt smug.

Caroline waggled her eyebrows. She knew her girl and she knew Damon and she sure as hell knew that there was more to the story than Damon wanted them to believe.

"What?! Damon, how could you?" Elena – the voice of reason. _Her reason._ Bonnie thought. _Urgh!_ Her friends were right she did spend too much time with Damon. But for someone she claimed to deeply care for, Elena was all too willingly blaming Damon. Shouldn't she listen to their explanation first before she accused any of them? _Shouldn't she know her best friend, her sister, better than to believe she'd jumped into Damon's bed after a few days of getting along?_ They only knew each other since kindergarten.

"Don't listen to him. Damon's just being Damon", Bonnie pacified. Shooting Damon a look that clearly told him to behave Bonnie slid into the booth next to Caroline. Seeing her doing that, the vampire was irritated with her – now he was forced to sit alone on a seat in front of their table. Witches!

"So, what have you been up to since I've seen you last?" Elena tried to break the tension that had settled over their table unknowingly poking into a termites' nest. Nervous, the little witch glanced to Damon before her eyes wandered to Stefan's guilty look and then met Caroline's eyes. With a shock of guilt, Bonnie suddenly realized that everyone was privy to Damon's and her growing relationship, everyone knew of their meetings, everyone but Elena – one of her best friends. What had become of them?

It was time they came clean. That didn't mean she had to tell Elena everything about the True Love's Kiss and its consequences, about the gifts Damon had gotten her or about their agreement and all the time they've spent together and least of all it didn't mean she had to tell her about them sharing a bed in the middle of a restaurant but there'd be no more lying or sweet talking. Damon and her had decided to make their friendship public – and that included Elena. It would also prove to her if Damon was as over Elena as he claimed to be. His reaction to Elena's reaction would determine where they were heading and if he was ever going to see her in **all **of his gifts. _I can't believe I just thought that?!_

"Uhm … we did some researching yesterday and today I relaxed in the sun", the witch told her friend.

Elena was perplexed. "'We' were doing research? Who's we?"

Glancing to Damon he gave her a small nod. If she wanted to come clean and sort everything out he sure as hell would keep his mouth shut. He wasn't eager to explain everything to Elena. Let her deal with it.

"Yeah, 'we'. Damon and I", Bonnie revealed. At the baffled look on Elena's face the witch continued. "You remember when Damon was dying?"

"How could I forget? How could anyone forget?" The doppelganger was stricken for a few seconds reliving those moments.

"You remember the cure I've found?" Bonnie asked. Elena nodded. "Turns out it seems to be real. Not only the cure and saving Damon but also everything else connected with it", Bonnie informed.

"But how is that possible? I haven't felt any different", Elena exclaimed.

"No, you haven't. It was me. My clumsiness was what brought Damon back to life." After her revelation Bonnie kept quiet. It was a lot to take in.

Elena was numb. She didn't know what she was feeling. After wishing for so long Damon would stop pestering her, she suddenly wasn't quite sure if it was what she wanted now. She was just used to have him following her, showering her with attention. It was nice having someone depending so much on you and have him deliver the world at your feet.

At the same time, though, Elena knew it was wrong. She did care for him – deeply care for him – but she knew she did care for him in another way than she cared for Stefan. Because of that she only wanted what was best for him and moving on would do all of them some good. That didn't mean she had to like it from the get-go or be happy about it.

However, surviving all they had they all needed to get some kind of order and normalcy back into their lives. Moving on from any sort of relationship between any of them was exactly what they needed. Elena knew that.

_One step at a time. _They just needed to find themselves again.

"So, what does that mean?" Elena asked a few minutes later.

"We don't really know-"

"Hence the research", Damon butted in.

Everyone at their table shot him a seething glare. Mr.-Know-it-all had to turn into Captain Obvious as well. What would they do without him? They were at a loss.

"What did you find out?" Stefan wanted to know. He was curious ever since Bonnie had dismissed him the night before.

"Not much. And less we didn't already know", Damon informed his brother. He dared the witch to say once more he wasn't able to be decent. He even indulged his little brother.

"As soon as we find anything or something happens we'll tell you. But so far there isn't anything to tell", Bonnie calmed her friends. There was no use in telling them everything right away. Some stuff she wanted to keep between Damon and herself and with remaining silent the vampire seemed to agree with her (for once).

"You two are friends, it's true then?" Elena still had a hard time grabbing that concept. How long had she wished for them to get along? _How often have I told them to stop fighting all the time?_ Now it didn't feel real.

Bonnie was the one to answer. "Yes, we are."


End file.
